UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

DR.    MALBONE   W.    GRAHAM 


-JL  AIPER 
414   Br'.'son  Bld£» 

.  Vandi>e  t 
Fitzroy  4205 


By  Rabbi  Simon  Glazer 


Published  by  the 

UNITED  SYNAGOGUES  OF  GREATER  KANSAS  CITY 
1922 


CLINE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY.  KANSAS  CITY,  Mo. 


Copyrighted  by 
SIMON  GLAZER,   1922 

All  Rights  of  Translation 
Reserved  by  the  Author. 
All  Rights  of  Reprint  throughout  the 
English-Speaking    Countries,    in- 
cluding Palestine,  Reserved. 


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THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


PRESIDENT   WARREN  G.  HARDING 
"He   Made   Good   His   Promise." 


[4] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 

THE    WHITE    HOUSE 

WASHINGTON 

July  25,    1922. 


Uy  dear  Babbi  Glazer: 

In  compliance  with  your  request  of 
July  19th,  the  President  has  been  glad  to 
autograph  a  photograph  for  the  purpose 
mentioned.   I  have  pleasure  in  sending  it 
to  you  today,  "under  other  cover. 
Sincerely  yours, 


Secretary  to  the  President' 


Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 

612  Massachusetts  Building, 

Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Facsimile   of   Letter   Authorizing    Dedication   of    This 
Work  to  the  President. 


[5] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

July  19,   1922. 

Honorable  George  G.   Christian  Jr. 
Secretary  to  the  President, 

Washington,   D.C. 
My  dear  Mr.   Secretary: 

On  November  18,   1921  the  President  promised  to 
see  the  Honorable  Arthur   J.   Balfour   in  reference  to 
Palestine  as  a  national  homeland  for  the  Jewish  people. 
The  President  did  so.     As  a  result  of  his  great  in- 
fluence both  houses  of  Congress  have  passed  resolutions 
favoring  such  a  national  homeland  for  the  Jewish  people. 
SenatorsCharles  Curtis  of  Kansas  and  Seldon  P.    Spencer 
were  the  first  men  to  take  up  this  matter.     All  records 
in  connection  with  that  are  now  being  published  by  the 
United  Synagogues  of  Greater  Kansas  City.      The  work  will 
be  dedicated  to  the  President  and  it    is  desirable  that  we 
have  an  autographed  photograph  of  him  to  appear  on  the 
dedicatory  page. 

I  trust  that  you  will  find  the  time  to  comply  with 
our  request,   and  thanking  you  most  heartily   in  antici- 
pation,  I  am 

Yours  very  cordial, 


Rabbi  of  the  United  Synagogues 
SG:RT  of  Greater  Kansas  City. 

Facsimile  Copy  of  Letter  Outlining  Reason  of  Having 
This  Work  Dedicated  to  the  President. 


[6] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 

THE   WHITE   HOUSE 

WA£  H I NGTON 


October   13.  1921. 

lly  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

The  President  directs  me  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  your   letter  of  September  30th, 
and  to  call  attention  to  the  fact   that  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  with  liirkey,  known  as  the  Treaty  of  Sevres, 
has  not  come  into  effect  and  that,    therefore,    such 
matters  as  the  ratification  of  mandates  and  other 
readjustments  affecting  the  former  Ottoman  Empire 
cannot  for  the  moment  be  given  definitive  action. 
Sincerely  yours, 


Secretary  to  the  President. 


Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
612  Massachusetts 
Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Facsimile  of  Letter  Which  Cleared  the  Atmosphere  and 
Revealed  Exact  Situation. 


[7] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


HON.   HENRY   J.   ALLEN 

Governor  of  the  State  of  Kansas 

"Ennobled  by   Modesty." 


[8] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

STATE  OF  KANSAS 


KXECTT1VE   UEtMiftTMENT 

r  21,  1921. 


Habfci  Siioon  Glazer, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 
Dear  itabli  Glazerj 

Thank  you  for  your  klna  telegram  of  the  17th  from 
Washington.     1  found  it  waiting  for  me  upon  my  return 
home  today* 

I  was  In  Washington  Saturday  ana  had  lunch  with  the 
President  and  senator  Curtis,     '..'hey  loth  spoke  of  you  and 
of  how  glad  they  were  to  have  an  opportunity  to  comply 
with  your  request. 

1  am  sincerely  glad  that  your  visit  to  Washington 
brought  you  so. much  pleasure  and   so  much  opportunity  for 
usefulness  to  your  people. 

sincerely, 


Facsimile  of  Letter  Showing  the  Work  of  God  Through 
America's  Greatest  Statesmen. 

[9] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


STATK  OF  KANSAS 


EXECrTIVE  DEPARTMENT 

TOPKKA 


Octoter  ZL,  1921. 


Rabbi  Simon  Glazsr, 
718  Delaware  St. , 
Kansas  City,  no. 

My  dear  HaVbi  Glazen 

Thank  yoa  for  year  kind,  letter  of  the  20th  last* 
I  an  glad  to  have  'been  of  even  slight  benefit  to  yoa 
in  reference  to  the  matter  of  the  federal  resolution. 
I  shall  always  te  glad  to  serve  you  and  your  people  In 

any  way. 

Tours  slnotrely, 


Facsimile   of   Governor   Allen's   Letter   After   Senator 
Curtis  Took  Matters  Up  With  State  Department. 


[10] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 

BTATK  or  KANSAS 
SXECCTIVE  DEPARTMENT 

TOP.KA    September  19,  1921. 


Habbi  Simon 

United  Synagogues  of  Greater  Kaasas  City, 

Kansas  City,  ilo. 

Ily  oeax  Babbi  Glazer: 

I  on  sending  you  herewith  the  letter  I  received  from 
Senator  Curtis.     You  will  note  the  second  paratZ'aph  of 
his  letter,   In  which  he  states   that  If  you  wish  him  to 
present  the  resolution  he  will  be  glad  to  go  over  it  and 
take  the  matter  up  with  the  state  u  apartment  and  to   in- 
troduce it  ,  In  case  the  state  department  aees  no  compllca- 
tlons  in  it. 

I  am  glad  that  Senator  Curtis  so  thoroughly  sympathizes 
with  your  attitude  In  this  matter,  and  1  feel  certain  that 
he  will  be  able  to  giro  you  some  valuable  assistance. 

I  expect  to  talk  with  senator  Cqppar  personally  about 
this.     I  feel  sure  that  he  will  co-operate  with  anything 
Senator  Curtis  does. 

Tours  sincere! 


Facsimile  of  Governor  Allen's  Letter  Showing  the  First 
Step  Taken  in  Bringing  About  the  Palestine  Resolution. 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


GOVERNOR   ARTHUR   HYDE 

of   Missouri. 
"An   Everready   Friend." 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


Sept.    23,   1*21. 


Rabbi  Simon  Glaeer, 

Kansas  City,   Missouri. 


Ky  dear  Rabbi  Glazer; 

I  acknowledge  reoelpt  of  your  favor  of  the 
26th.         I  had  already  written  to  Senator  Spenoer,  because 
I  felt  that  I  had  sufficient  facts  on  hand  to   Justify  the 
message. 

I  am  this  morning  In  reoelpt  of  a  letter  from  Sen. 
Selden  P.    Spenoer  In  which  he    says: 

"  You  are   entirely  right  in  what  you    state  con- 
cerning my  attitude  In  this  natter.         Anything 
I   can  do   for   that  race,   I   shall   be  glad  to    do. 
I  oan  never  forget  that  my  Savior  was  himself  a 
Jew,  and  the    suffering  of  tiiese  people  in  their 
yos.ro  of  wandering  and  persecution  Is  tragic". 


Facsimile  of  Governor  Hyde's  Letter  Introducing  Sen- 
ator Spencer  as  an  Element  of  Intense  Activity. 


[13] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


GOVERNOR  SAMUEL  R.   McKELVIE 

'A    Quick-Grasping   Statesman    Advocating   a   National    Homeland 
for  the  Jewish  People  in  Palestine." 


[14] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


ti%  of  2£ 

EXECUTIVE  OFFICE 

Ttnruln        beptember  Twenty-nine 
1 9  a  1 


Kabbi   Simon  Glazier. 

United  jynagoguea  of  Greater  Kanai3  City. 

Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

Kevercad  Slr;- 

I  am  enoloning  copy  of  letter   that 
I  have   Just  written  to  Senators  Hltohoook  and 
Horrla  of  Nebraska. 

Very  truly  your  a. 
SR1I/H 


Governor. 


[' (ic.simile  of  Copy  of  Governor  McKelvie's  Letter  to  the 
Nebraska  Senators,  Who  Were  of  Material  Help. 


[15] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 

COPY 


.September  Twenty-nine 
19  21 


I  have    just  had  a  call   from  Rabbi 
Simon  Glazier  of   the  United  Synagogues   of 
Greater  Kansas  City,   regarding   the  ambitions 
of  'the   Jewish  people    for  a  National  Home    or 
Homeland   in  Palestine. 

.Recognizing  the   need   of   the  several 
million  Jewish  people    for  a  Homeland  of   their 
own,    I  desire    to  express  my  sympathy  with 
their  cause,    and    I  hope    that   the  United   States 
Senate  may,    by  resolution, give   endorsement 
to    this  movement  insofar   as   it   is   in  harmony 
with  the    obligations  and   purposes   of   the   De- 
partment of  State   of   the   United   States. 

I   shall   appreciate   any   interest    that 
you  may  show  in  this  matter. 

Very  truly  yours, 
SRM/M 


Governor. 

Facsimile  Copy  of  Governor  McKelvie's  Letter  Mani- 
festing Sincere  Action, 


[16] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 

EXECUTIVE  OFFICE 

OES    MOINFS.  IOWA 


November  13,  1908. 
My  dear  habbl: 

I  have  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  and  I  beg  to 
assure  you  that  It  gave  me  aa  much  gratification  as  any  one 
of  the  many  letters  I  have  received  relating  to  the  recent 
primary  election.    I  have  had  the  generous  support  of  the 
Jewish  people  from  the  beginning,  and  I  am  very  grateful  to 
them  for  their  confidence.    I  Intend  to  do  what  I  can  In 
the  direction  you  suggest.    I  have  no  patience  with  the 
intolerance  that  exists  in  some  parts  of  our  country,  and 
the  Injustice  that  prevails  in  many  of  the  foreign  countries. 
Do  not  hesitate  to  communicate  with  me  when  I  reach  Wash- 
ington, and  I  will  give  all  the  lifluence  I  have  toward  the 
enactment  of  such  a  law  as  you  suggest,  and  more  than  that, 
to  any  other  law  that  will  Insure  impartial  civic  treatment 
in  every  part  of  the  world  toward  the  Jewish  race. 
With  high  regard,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 


Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
Montreal, 

Quebec . 

Facsimile  Letter  of  One  of  America's  Greatest  States- 
men. Senator  Cummins  Received  Mr.  Sokolow  and 
the  Interview  Was  of  Far-reaching  Importance. 


[17] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


SENATOR  SELDEN  P.  SPENCER 

'The  people  of  Israel  will  get  Palestine  with  or  without  the  con- 
sent  of   our    State    Department." — Senator   Spencer    to 
Under-Secretary  of  State  Henry  P.   Fletcher, 
Tuesday,    November    22,    1921. 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


QtCnii 

COMMITTEE  ON  INDIAN  AFFAIRS. 

September  13,  1921. 
Uy  dear  Governor: 

I  have  your  letter  of  recent  date  and  n»te 

what  you  say  in  reference  to  your  interview  with  Rabbi  Simon 
Glazer  of  the  United  Synagogues  of  Greater  Kanaae  City. 

If  he  would  aend  copy  of  the  resolution 

dealred  by  himself  and  his  people,  1  would  gladly  go  over  it 
and  take  the  matter  up  with  the  State  Department,  and  if  they 
saw  no  complications  I  would  be  pleased  to  introduce  it. 

However,  I  want  to  be  certain  that  no 

complications  would  arise  because  it  would  be  unfortunate 
to  have  anything  happen  just  at  this  time.  Personally,  my 
sympathies  are  with  the  Jewish  people,  and  I  would  like  to 
see  them  establish  a  national  homeland  in  Palestine. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  on 

Very  truly  youre, 


Honorable  H.  J.  Allen, 
Executive  Department, 
Topeka,  Kansas. 


Faes.wUe  o>  orator  Curtis'  Letter  to  Governor  Allen — 
the  First  Direct  Mention  of  the  Palestine  Resolution. 


[19] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


SENATOR  CHARLES  CURTIS 
"The  Champion  of  Israel." 


[20] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


POSTAL  TELEGRAPH  -  COMMERCIAL  CABLES 


TELEGRAM 


B36CHU   458PU  12   GOVT 

ST  WASHINGTON   DC   NOV  14  21 

RABBI    SI  UGH   GLAZER 

RABBI  UNITED  SYNAGOGUES  OF  GREATER  KAtlSASCITY 

KAIISASCITY  HO. 

PKESIDEIIT  HARDING  WILL   3EE  YOU      FRIDAY   UOH!II!!G  THIS  »EEK   AT 
TEH  THIRTY 

CHARLES  CURTIS 

Facsimile  of  Telegram  Which  Brought  About  America's 
Direct  Help  and  Removed  All  Complications. 


[21] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


ied  Plaice 

November  17,   1921. 


My  dear  Mr.   President : 

This  will  introduce  to  you  Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  to  whom  you  agreed  to  give  an 
interview  at  10:30,  Friday  morning,  November  18th. 

I   take  great  pleasure  in  recommending  the  Rabbi 
to  you  and  trust  you  will  give  him  a  full  and  com- 
plete hearing. 

Yours,   very  truly, 


To  The  President, 
Washington,   D.C. 

Facsimile  of  Letter  Which  Moved  the  Heart  and  Swl  of 
President  Harding. 


[22] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


-i7>iaK  •;,   i-'n 


December  14.   1921. 
My  dear  Glazer: 

Ifoar  wire  of  recent  date  came  duly 
to  hand  and   I  note  what  you   say  about  H.   Sokolow. 

I  assure  you  It  will   give  si  a  great 

pleasure  to    see  Mr.   Sokolow  if  it  is  possible  while  he 
is   in  Washington.     Senator  Lodge  is  buay  with  the   Confer- 
enea  and   I  an  so  busy  with  work  in  the  Senate,  where   I 
must   be   all  the  time,   that   it   is  almost   impocsible  to 
make  appointments  to  see   any  one  during  the  sessions. 
A  Committee   called  upon  me  yesterday  and   told   thjm  that 
I  would   see  l!r.    Sokolow  as  soon  as  possible. 

With  compliments  of  the   season, 
I  am, 

Very  truly  yours. 


Simon  Glaser, 

Rabbi,   United  Synagogues  of  Creator 
Kansas  City, 

Kansas   City,   Missouri. 

Facsimile  of  Senator  Curtis'  Letter  Which  is  Both 
Historic  and  Interesting. 


|23] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


January   17,   1922. 


Uy  dear  Glazer: 

Your  letter  of  recent  date  came 

duly  to  hand  and  I  thank  you  very  much  for  sending 
me  a  copy  of  your  letter  to  the  President. 

I  assure  you  I  have  read  it  with 
great  Interest,  and  further  assure  you  It  was  a 
pleasure  to  be  of  assistance  to  you  and  to  Mr. 
Nuhum  Sokolow. 

Kith  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Very  truly  youra, 


Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues, 

Kansas  City,  Missouri 

Facsimile  of  Senator  Curtis'  Letter  Which  Uncovers 
Much  of  What  Was  Done  to  Clear  the  Way  for  Final 
Action. 


[24] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


April   80,   1922. 


r.iy  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

I  have  your  wire  and  note  what  you 
.ay   in  regard  to   the  Lodge  resolution. 
I  will  gladly  present  your  wire  to  Senator 
Lodge  and  will  again  urge  him  to  ask   for 
early  action  upon  his  resolution.      I   have 
already     spoken  to  him   In  regard   to   it. 

You  .-nay  rest   assured    it  will  give 
mo  pleasure  to  do  all   I   can  in  scouring 
early  action. 

With  kindest  regards.   I  am. 

Very  truly  yours. 


Babbl  Simon  Glacer, 
United  Synagogues, 
Greater  Eansas  Olty,  Mo. 


Facsimile  of  Senator  Curtis'  Letter  Which  Reveals  the 
Most  Noble  Character  in  the  United  States  Senate. 


[25] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


RECEIVED  AT  COMMERCIAL  NAT'L  BANK  BLD6.,  HID  &  6  SIS.,  N.  W,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


B186CH  17 

1921   HOV  17   PM   5  50 

B  CHICAGO  ILL  432P  17 
KABBI  SIMON  GLAZER 

WASHINGTON  HOTEL  WASHINGTON  DC 

LIPSKY  COMMUNICATED  WITH  NEWYOHK  TO  HAVE  SOME  ONE  MEET  YOU 
REGRET  INABILITY  TO  JOIN  YOU  GODS  SPEED 
MAX  SHULHAN. 

Facsimile  of  Telegram  Showing  Interest  of  Zionist  Or- 
ganization of  America  in  the  Palestine  Resolution. 


[26] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


POSTAL  TELEGRAPH  -  COMMERCIAL  CABLES 


TELEGRAM 


286NYBP18 

BY   HEKYOKK  MOV  18  ?1 

RABBI   SIUON   GLAZEH  CO   OF  HOTEL  BASH) 

WASH!!  DC 

LLAEER  HILL   JOIN  YOU   II!  UNOFFICIAL   UEETIHG  WITH  OTHER  OENTLEHEH  ON 
SATUREAY  HORUIllQ  STOP  SEE  JOLDHERiJ  GOOD  WISHES 
HENRY   J   DA1INEJBAUU 

2P 

Facsimile  of  Telegram  Which  Relates  to  the  Appearance 
of  Mr.  N.  Sokolow  upon  the  Scene. 


[27] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


RECEIVED  AT 


1922   14AY   4      PU  3   3f> 


E203A  18 

SD  NCTYOHK  NY  332P  4 
HABBI  SIMON  GLAZEH 

813  MASSACHUSETTS  BLDG  KANSA3CITY  UO 

COi.'LiHATULATIONS  TO  YuU  UK)!!  SUCCESS  OF  SENATE  RESOLUTION  F.!ICI1 
MAKES  IIIEVITASLE  ADOKTIOIJ  BY  HOUSE  AND  SIGNATURE  BY  PRESIDENT 

LOUIS  LIPSKY. 

Facsimile  of  a  Telegram  Giving  Color  to  the  L!psky 
Efficiency. 


|28] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


ZIONIST  ORGAN^AXION  OF  AMERICA 


55    FIFTH    AVENUE 
NEW  YORK 


NATIONAL  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE' 

V,  J  I  »r*.  .V    V,      j".*?;,*''^**  ftlwrVlU.  /Vl       S£!?I.OK"!''«I.W«T         .\V«-V."f\     Y'  J  *'^   *'!?•'"'"' 

\r*  V'w*.  >.  V.      1.M.U  liouiMG  f-.itttm.-T,. 1..  I.      \l<*.i.  Miw..  ii..  K^r  V..f*.  \    V  H..S..C.   -«n.lv 

rv'«*T»j.  <i!   •*"'^r>.<rTUi!»   r»i'/Mk>»t«."r»    s.^tT!  M'^WIMI      ^^Blp^n  <  «"..s.7's"t« 

M     MO«MM.  T".     J"*r«    HMMt.rat*  rfcllM,         <V      I'MW^  ^"rMlt"'.  .C-nJIu'.    *Trt  S^nnT/MM 

A. IT    V..'*    .V.    V.      Bu«*M  I14BWKH  rftlm#«.  fll.      R.VJ4MI*  H.B...KI  ».H«iia,  NUM.  Sm  J    Wn«flfttx 


Hixbhi  Sloan  Clu«r, 
UnlUd  SynngogiMis, 
B1S-314  MMuuchueott-  Bidg. 
Kans«e  City,  Ho. 


J«nu«ry  J,   19Z2. 


liy  Je»r  Rabbi  Cilazen 


I  bft-  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  yours 
or  December  29tl  »hica  ia  beint,  cxrefully  followed 
up.     I  under-*.Mvl  that  Mr.  Sokolo*  is  to  b«  in 
•ashinttoo  some ti»f  this  -reek. 

Thantint  you  very  much  for  keeping  UH 
promptly  informe.l  of  all  derelopaento,  I  am 

Very  cordially  yjur», 

oVv^,    "^-r/^ 
Ganernl  Sacr^tary. 


•J./IM 

Facsimile  of  Letter  Manifesting  the  Spirit  of 
Co-operation. 


[29] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


ZIONIST  QRGAN|CTION 


55  FIFTH  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK 


NATIONAL   EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

]...,!!;..«  <iar\.    lad.      AwiIKU   C.'H  M.TI  I V          //  '•"•  .1  *  .1'rlnB.       HIIXH    M  ,.' M>  .KV          Bro-.l'^K.  .V.   V.       MlxSlllnl.s  f  h,.  .r'j<>,    I 


December  22,     9P1. 


Fibbi  SUon  Olazer, 
612-814  Muss.  Bldg., 
Kwii»3  City,  KO. 


My  dear  hc.bbi  Ciazer: 


I  «tnt  to  »xt.ro83  «i  thank*  to  you  for 
the  oopit<u  of  the  docun.  nt  ^ent  ner*.  uni  to  u-.-.ur* 
you  of  our  aj-i-ieciation  of  ail  th:  eood  .^,rk  th«t 
you  have  don*. 

same  direction  in  the  future. 

Very  oor^inlly  y^-urf 


Facsimile  of  Letter  Which  Implies  Favorable  Opinion 
to  the  Plan  of  a  Palestine  Resolution. 


[30] 


THE   PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


n-w  wrwStr/urKn  rnvoaa 

ZIONIST  QRGANKAXION  OF  AMERICA 


October  26,  1921. 


Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
3732  Harrison  Street, 
Xar.eae  City,  Ho. 

My  dear  Rabbi: 

I  appreciate  nighly  your  letter  of  the  23rd, 
and  especially  the  spirit  of  service  which  it  indlcatee. 

I  hope  it  will  be  poeeible  shortly  to  meet 
you  in  lashington  or  in  Uew  York.  There  is  hardly  s 
possibility  of  any  one  of  us  going  so  far  as  Topeka- 

Vitb  beet  wishes  for  the  New  Year,  1  aa 
Very  cordially  yours, 


General  Secretary. 


Facsimile  of  Letter  Which  Sho^vs  that  Zionist  Admin- 
istrative Committee  Knew  of  Every  Move  Made  in 
the  Great  Effort  to  Clear  the  Way  for  a  Palestine 
Resolution. 


[31] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


•  TU  YVMANT  {  •»« 

iiD'n  pp 
KEREN  HAYESOD 


(PALESTINE  FOUNDATION  FUND) 

MBADOUAOTIRB     POM     THt     UHITIO     •  TATM 

30  UNION    SQUARE 

New  YORK         Beceaber  4,    1921 


PROVISIONAL  ORGANIZATION 


Rabbi  Siaon  Glazer, 
mi  Harrison  Street 
Kansas  City,  Ho. 

Dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

I  thank  you  most  cordially  for  your 
telegram  and  I  am  looking  forward  to  reoeiring  your 
news  about    the  deTelopment  in  your  work. 

Please  keep  me   informed  of  your 
correspondence  with  the  friends  of  our  cause. 
Cordially  yours 


Facsimile  of  a  Letter  Manifesting  Mr.  Sokolow's 
Interest  in  the  Palestine  Resolution. 

[32] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


INTRODUCTION 

The  background  upon  which  the  greatest  po- 
litical movement  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish 
people  in  Diaspora  had  its  development  was  all 
but  encouraging  to  its  sponsor.  A  people  peeled 
and  scattered  into  myriads  of  fragments,  claim- 
ing every  country  as  its  homeland  and  repudi- 
ated by  all  countries ;  speaking  every  language, 
save  its  own,  with  native  fluency,  and  as  freely 
mocked  at  in  all  tongues ;  enriching  many  lands 
by  its  thrift  and  skill,  and  as  grossly  denounced 
as  parasitic;  forever  knocking  at  the  gates  of 
avery  port  of  entry,  pleading  for  admission, 
and  ever  being  refused;  daily  praying  and 
yearning  for  peace,  and  periodically  whirled 
into  a  turmoil  of  war;  constantly  carrying  the 
Commandments  of  God  from  people  to  people, 
and  as  frequently  rejected  as  carriers  of  calam- 
.ty;  witnessing  the  rise  and  fall  of  every  ty- 
rant; suffering  the  unsparing  ferocity  of  the 
mob  and  the  systematic  cruelty  of  the  polished 
anti-Semite;  feeling  the  sting  of  the  Russian 
knout  and  the  stigma  of  the  German  cry  of 
"hep !  hep ! ;"  enduring  the  unrighteous  barbar- 
ism of  the  Moslem  and  the  unholy  echoes  of 
medieval  superstition;  facing  the  day  with  a 

[33] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

pang  of  hunger  and  the  night  with  the  pain 
of  expected  terror — such  was  the  position  of 
Israel  among  the  nations  when  Dr.  Theodore 
lerzl  commenced  to  dream  his  dream  about  a 
Tudenstaat. 

In  all  the  centuries  of  exile,  never  for  a  mo- 
ment have  the  Jews  forgotten  their  age-old 
dope  to  be  reestablished  in  Palestine  and  to 
rejoin  the  family  of  nations.  This  hope  was 
considered  by  them  and  to  them  the  greatest 
part  of  their  own  secret  of  immortality  and  in- 
destructibility, the  greatest  part  of  their  own 
mission  as  the  chosen  people  of  Jehovah.  Dur- 
ing the  darkest  moments  of  their  bloodstained 
career  in  Diaspora,  they  were  comforted  by  the 
memory  of  the  cherished  expectation  of  the 
Messiah,  who  would  carry  them  across  space 
into  Palestine.  Almighty  Himself  deeded  Ca- 
naan to  the  fathers  of  His  chosen  people.  Such 
a  belief,  neither  streams  of  blood,  oceans  of 
tears  nor  all  waters  under  the  sun  can  either 
drown,  blot  out  or  carry  away  to  the  bottomless 
abyss  of  oblivion. 

Part  of  the  Jewish  people,  however,  as  a  re- 
sult of  endless  persecutions,  had  already  become 
reconciled  to  their  newly-acquired  belief  in  as- 
similation, thereby  forcing  upon  themselves, 
and  trying  to  impose  upon  others,  the  idea  that 
by  drifting  away  far  enough  from  the  centrif- 

[34] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ugal  of  Israel's  ancient  hope,  the  process  of 
assimilation  could  be  made  easier  and  thus 
solve  the  perplexing  problem  painlessly. 

Herzl  himself,  as  he  admits  in  his  "Memoirs," 
for  a  time  at  least,  considered  a  similar  solu- 
tion to  the  Jewish  problem.  But  meeting  with 
one  disappointment  after  another,  even  in  the 
attempt  to  make  an  inglorious  surrender,  the 
poison  itself  became  an  antidote.  It  set  him 
thinking,  dreaming,  until  what  appeared  even 
to  himself  as  Utopian  was  born  in  his  mind. 

The  proletarian  masses  in  the  large  indus- 
trial cities,  both  in  Europe  and  in  America,  had 
already  advanced  far  enough  in  their  several 
adical  cults  to  attribute  all  evil,  including  the 
Jewish  sufferings,  to  the  universal  bad  system 
of  government,  to  the  wholesale  exploitation  of 
labor  and  to  the  ruling  classes  which  were 
drawn  upon  exclusively  from  among  non-pro- 
ducers. They  therefore  did  not,  and  would  not, 
consider  the  Jewish  question  apart  from  the 
general  question  of  the  international  proletar- 
iat. To  all  of  these  elements  the  possibility  of 
recasting  the  Jewish  people  into  a  political  en- 
tity appeared  incomprehensible. 

Herzl  not  having  appeared  either  as  a  Mes- 
siah or  as  a  wonder-working  mystic,  the  Ghetto 
rew  could  not  and  did  not  know  how  to  receive 
him.  The  Ghetto  dwellers  were  amazed, 

[35] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

shocked,  feverish,  distrustful,  militant. 

Psychologically,  Herzl  knew  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple better  than  any  other  Jewish  leader  in  the 
entire  history  of  the  Diaspora.  He  realized 
hat  the  Jewish  people  as  a  whole  cannot  and 
will  not  remain  indifferent  at  the  mention  of 
Zion.  Undismayed,  undaunted,  refusing  even 
to  procrastinate  in  order  to  interest  the  indif- 
ferent, he  proceeded  to  draw  a  fully  developed 
sketch  of  his  dream,  and  exclaimed  to  his  people 
through  their  representatives  at  the  first  Basle 
Congress :  "//  you  will,  it  will  not  be  a  dream!" 
When  Herzl  came,  there  was  already  quite  an 
.".idience  of  "Lovers  of  Zion"  whom  to  address. 
fe  had  a  number  of  predecessors  who  did  some 
pioneer  Zionist  work  throughout  the  nineteenth 
century.  Rabbi  Zebi  Hirsch  Kalischer,  Moses 
Hess,  David  Gordon,  Abraham  Petavel,  Rabbi 
Samuel  Mohilewer,  Heinrich  Graetz,  Lev  Sem- 
ionovich  Pinsker,  Joseph  Salvador,  Lazar  Levy- 
Bing,  J.  Frankel,  Moritz  Steinschneider,  Rabbi 
Judah  Alkali,  Charles  Netter,  Samuel  David 
Luzzatto,  Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  Adolph  Crem- 
ieux,  Gustave  Cohen,  Moses  Leib  Lilienblum, 
Perez  Smolenskin,  Lev  Osipovitch  Levanda, 
Emma  Lazarus,  Hermann  Schapira,  Kalony- 
mus  Wissotsky,  Ben  Yehudah,  and  Isaac  Rulf 
are  the  outstanding  Jewish  names ;  Grace-Aug- 
ular  (George  Eliot),  Hollingsworth,  Warden 

[36] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Cresson  (M.  C.  Boaz  Israel,  American  Consul 
in  Jerusalem),  Henry  Dunant,  Benedetto  Muso- 
lino  and  Laurence  Oliphant  are  among  the  non- 
Jewish  friends  who  were  the  forerunners  of 
modern  Zionism,  and  who,  by  their  self-sacri- 
ficing work,  had  already,  in  a  measure,  paved 
the  way  for  him. 

After  the  fourth  Zionist  Congress,  Herzl  com- 
menced  to  feel  the  strength  of  the  opposition. 
There  were  four  hostile  camps  arrayed  against 
him:  (a)  Ultra-Orthodox;  (b)  Assimilation- 
ists;  (c)  Kultur-Zionismus ;  (d)  Territorialists. 
(A)  Herzl,  up  to  a  year  or  two  before  the 
idea  of  a  Judenstaat  came  to  him,  lived  in  a 
West-European  atmosphere.  He  was  forced  to 
his  Zionist  conclusions  by  external  anti-Semitic 
influences.  He  did  not  even  for  a  moment  con- 
ider  the  idea  of  appearing  in  the  East-Euro- 
•\an  Ghettos  as  a  kind  of  Messiah.  He  made 
no  divine  pretenses  whatsoever.  The  entir^ 
structure  of  his  plan  was  based  solely  upon 
sound  political  doctrines.  He  realized  that  he 
was  on  holy  grounds  and  respected  it.  He  knew 
that  the  souls  of  his  people  were  connected  to 
Palestine  with  the  most  sacred  ties.  He  felt 
that  by  offering  to  them  better  material  condi- 
tions they  would  be  able  to  transplant  every- 
thing that  is  spiritual,  with  very  little  effort, 
in  the  land  of  their  fathers,  where  their  sacred 
history  was  written. 

[37] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

In  this,  Herzl  misjudged  the  temper  of  the 
East-European  Ghetto  Jews,  particularly  the 
majority  of  the  ultra-Orthodox  Rabbis.  The 
latter,  mindful  of  the  harm  pseudo-Messiahism 
had  left  in  its  wake,  particularly  the  appear- 
ance of  Shabethai  Zebi  (1626-1676),  could  not 
at  all  conceive  the  idea  of  a  political  Jewish 
state  in  Palestine  without  the  direct  help  of 
God.  In  a  measure,  that  sentiment  still  pre- 
vails even  to  this  day  in  many  ultra-Orthodox 
quarters. 

Thus,  the  ultra-Orthodox  element  claimed  a 
twofold  reason  why  Zionism  should  be  opposed : 
(1)  A  return  to  Zion  without  a  Messiah;  (2) 
West-European  ideas,  lest  it  brings  actual  as- 
similation. 

(B)  The  West-European  and  American  Re- 
form Rabbis,  having  the  instruments  of  a  mod- 
ern press  and  pulpit  at  their  command,  used 
them  with  religious  zeal  against  Herzl.  In 
1869,  the  late  Rabbi  Einhorn  called  together  a 
conference  of  Reform  Rabbis  at  Philadelphia, 
where  the  principles  of  Reform  Judaism  were 
promulgated  and  accepted.  Paragraphs  (1) 
and  (2)  of  the  Philadelphia  platform  read  as 
follows : 

"(1)  Israel's  Messianic  goal  is  not  the  restor- 

*on  of  a  Jewish  state  and  its  seclusion  from 
other  nations,  but  the  reunion  of  all  peoples  in 

[38] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  knowledge  of  the  one  Supreme  God,  the 
unification  of  all  mankind  and  their  elevation 
to  purity  and  holiness. 

(2)  The  destruction  of  Israel's  independence 
is  not  to  be  considered  as  the  punishment  for 
Israel's  sinfulness,  but  as  the  fulfillment  of  the 
Divine  purpose  in  sending  Israel  forth  into  the 
world  upon  the  priestly  mission  to  lead  men  to 
a  correct  knowledge  of  God  and  to  the  per- 
formance of  His  will." 

The  West-European  Jews  have  perhaps  not 
wandered  so  far  afield,  insofar  as  the  actual 
principles  of  Judaism  were  concerned;  but 
when  it  came  to  the  doctrine  of  assimilation, 
they  have  excelled  their  American  Reform 
brethren  manifold.  Herzl  was  looked  upon  as 
a  menace,  a  stumbling-block  to  their  goal.  In 
many  Reform  quarters,  it  was  openly  stated 
that  Zionism  invites  anti-Semitism.  To  them 
it  was  a  rude  awakening  by  an  intruder  in 
the  stillness  of  night.  The  sugar-coated  pill 
of  assimilation  had  worked  for  more  than  four 
generations  painlessly,  and  here  comes  a  doctor 
subscribing  an  antidote  which  would  open  the 
old  sores  and  bring  on  the  old  laboring  pains. 
Above  all,  they  feared  political  Zionism.  Dur- 
ing the  last  decade,  many  of  them  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  favor  some  colonization  scheme  which 
they  would  aid  on  philanthropic  grounds;  but 

[39] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

insofar  as  the  realization  of  Zionism  into  a 
political  state  is  concerned,  Reform  Jewry  con- 
tinues to  this  day  to  oppose  it.  Their  protest 
was  at  Versailles ;  their  protest  was  at  the  time 
:.he  Palestine  resolution  was  brought  in  the 
United  States  Congress.  Herzl  had  to  with- 
stand their  powerful  attacks  from  the  very  mo- 
.nent  his  idea  became  known. 

(C)  After  the  fourth  Zionist  Congress,  the 
question  of  Kultur-Zionismus  became  very 
acute.  Many  of  Herzl's  followers,  particularly 
in  Germany,  Austria-Hungary  and  France,  ad- 
vocated to  bring  in  West-European  ideas  and 
system  of  education  throughout  the  East- 
European  Ghettos.  A  majority  of  the  latter 
regarded  Kultur-Zionismus  as  connoting  anti- 
Jewish  and  anti-religious  principles. 

In  his  opening  address  at  the  first  Basle 
Congress,  Herzl  said:  "We  have  no  thought 
of  giving  up  even  one  foot  of  the  Kultur  that 
we  have  acquired ;  on  the  contrary,  we  wish  to 
broaden  that  Kultur." 

The  second  Basle  Congress  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing resolution:  "Zionism  seeks  not  only 
the  economic  and  political,  but  also  the  spir- 
itual rebirth  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  must 
ever  remain  upon  the  stand  of  modern  Kultur 
whose  achievements  it  highly  values." 

At  the  third   Congress,   Dr.   Herzl   stated: 

[40] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

"We  desire  to  lift  ourselves  up  to  a  higher 
moral  plain,  to  open  up  new  means  of  com- 
munication between  nations  and  prepare  the 
way  for  social  justice.  Just  as  the  poet 
weaves  songs  out  of  his  own  pain,  so  shall 
we  prepare  from  out  of  our  own  suffering  the 
advancement  of  mankind,  in  whose  ?ovvice 
we  are." 

Nevertheless,  the  Kultur-Frage  v/orrie<!  Dr. 
Herzl  perhaps  more  than  many  other  objec- 
tions raised  against  Zionism  in  East  and 
Southeast  Europe.  At  the  fifth  Congress,  the 
ambition  of  political  Zionism  to  promote  Ktil- 
tur  amongst  the  Jewish  people  in  Diaspora 
was  made  part  of  the  Zionist  program.  The 
Kultur-Frage  wr.s  used  as  a  weapon  against 
Zionism,  even  in  Reform  circles.  They  looked 
upon  Zionism  generally  as  a  reaction,  not  only 
from  a  theological  point  of  view,  as  they  saw 
it,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  general  culture 
as  well.  The  Reform  Rabbis  on  December 
31,  1898,  during  their  conference  at  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  declared  themselves  opposed  to 
the  whole  Zionist  movement  on  the  ground 
"that  America  was  the  Jews'  Jerusalem  and 
Washington  their  Zion."  Reformers  opposed 
it  on  the  ground  that  there  is  no  such  thing, 
and  there  can  be  no  such  thing,  as  a  distinct 
Jewish  Kultur.  The  Orthodox  element  in 

[41] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

opposition  to  Zionism  saw  in  it  an  opening 
for  the  admission  of  assimilation  as  part  of 
the  Jewish  aspirations  which,  of  course,  is 
contrary  to  the  anticipated  goal  of  the  people 
of  Israel. 

(D)  The  economic  and  social  opposition 
of  the  majority  of  the  European  Jews  became 
so  depressive  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth 
century,  that  the  question  of  finding  a  haven 
of  refuge  anywhere  in  the  world  for  the  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  refugees  was  looked 
upon  with  favor  by  a  number  of  Herzl's  fol- 
lowers. The  sentimental  and  historic  features 
in  connection  with  Palestine  were  insufficient 
to  stay  the  demands  of  the  territorialist  ele- 
ment in  Zionism.  Jewish  immigration  to 
America  had  increased  almost  to  150,000  per 
annum.  There  was  a  real  exodus  from  East 
and  Southeast  European  Ghettos.  Just  about 
then  the  East  African  proposal  came.  The 
entire  European  Jewry,  as  it  appears,  be- 
lieved in  the  scheme  proposed  by  Great  Brit- 
ain. Particularly  the  Roumanian  Jews,  who 
at  that  time  were  actually  men  without  a 
country,  looked  upon  the  Uganda  project  as 
a  Godsend  solution  to  their  problem.  A  spe- 
cial warning  had  to  be  issued  by  the  Great 
Actions  Committee  to  the  Roumanian  Jews 
not  to  make  the  contemplated  preparations 
to  emigrate  to  Uganda. 

[42] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

At  the  sixth  Congress,  held  in  Basle  on 
August  23-28,  1903,  Herzl  said:  "East  Af- 
rica is  indeed  not  Zion  and  can  never  become 
it."  That  Congress  was  the  last  one  Dr.  Herzl 
attended.  During  the  sessions  of  the  Con- 
gress, he  had  complained  that  his  physical 
powers  were  unequal  to  the  task  and  that  an 
affection  of  his  heart  made  the  great  work 
more  difficult  than  it  otherwise  would  have 
been. 

Meantime,  territorialism  continued  to  agi- 
tate the  minds  of  the  erstwhile  supporters  of 
Dr.  Herzl.  The  territorialists  themselves 
abandoned  him  and  some  of  his  former  clos- 
est friends  distrusted  him.  The  project  of 
Uganda  having  come  directly  to  him  from 
the  British  government,  and  from  him  direct- 
ly to  the  members  of  the  Zionist  Congress, 
so  influenced  many  of  his  erstwhile  co-work- 
ers, that  they  actually  doubted  his  integrity 
and  sincerity  of  purpose  and  believed  until 
the  day  of  his  death  that  he  encouraged  ter- 
ritorialism. 

This  latter  fact  affected  his  health  more 
than  the  entire  opposition  to  his  plan.  He 
knew  his  own  sincerity  and  unbounded  love 
for  his  people.  He  also  knew  that  no  other 
territory  will  ever  either  support  or  sustain 
the  Jewish  people  for  any  longer  period  than 

[43] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  history  of  the  Diaspora  shows.  He  also 
knew  that  the  only  country  which  would 
shelter  his  homeless  people  would  be  Pales- 
tine. He  never  for  a  moment,  ever  since  he 
first  commenced  to  dream  about  his  Juden- 
staat,  doubted  the  practicability  of  his  plan. 
He  knew  within  his  soul,  with  the  wisdom  of 
a  prophet,  that  many  of  his  co-workers  would 
see  the  realization  of  his  dream.  He  lifted 
himself  upon  such  a  height,  that  like  unto 
Moses  r.^on  Mount  Pisgha  he  could  see  the 
country  of  his  people  from  afar,  and  like  unto 
Moses  was  prevented  from  entering  it. 

The  intervening  years  between  the  death 
of  Herzl  and  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War 
tell  the  story  of  Zionism  in  but  one  sentence : 
Propaganda,  opposition,  hope,  courage,  dis- 
appointment, hope  again.  The  only  bright 
chapter  in  the  whole  story  of  Zionism,  since 
the  first  Basle  Congress,  was  written  in  Pal- 
estine by  the  pioneers  who  turned  many  a 
desert  into  a  paradise.  The  colonists  in  Pal- 
estine have  demonstrated  to  the  world  that 
Palestine  will  yield  its  fat  and  fruit  to  no 
other  than  her  own  people.  Every  attempt 
of  colonization  in  Palestine  by  any  other  race, 
even  by  Germans,  was  not  successful.  Mirac- 
ulously the  soil  of  Palestine  yielded  to  the 
touch  of  the  Jewish  hand.  Erstwhile  Ghetto 

[44] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

dwellers,  who  for  centuries  had  been  con- 
fined in  cities  and  for  more  than  two  thou- 
sand years  divorced  from  the  plowshare  and 
the  pruning  hook,  the  hoe  and  the  ax,  the 
plow  and  the  rake,  have  come  to  Palestine 
and  at  once  commenced  to  reap  harvests  in 
great  abundance.  The  wine  and  the  fig-tree 
once  more  became  a  pleasant  place  to  rest 
for  the  Jew.  Milk  and  honey,  too,  commenced 
to  flow  freely,  and  in  but  one  decade  more 
than  twelve  thousand  Jewish  men,  women 
and  children  for  the  first  time  in  two  thou- 
sand years  knew  the  actual  meaning  of  home. 

The  World  War  brought  about  many 
changes.  As  a  matter  of  expediency,  as  well 
as  historic  justice,  Great  Britain  issued  the 
Balfour  Declaration.  The  European  Jewries 
had  been  shut  up  and  barred  up  ever  since 
the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Moreover,  they 
were  all  ruined  as  a  result  of  the  war.  Most 
of  the  West-European  countries,  too,  were 
ruined.  The  only  Jewries  which  could  take 
advantage  of  this  generous  declaration  were 
the  Jews  living  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  countries, 
where  no  Jewish  question  exists.  The  old 
opposition  was  revived  and  with  more  zest, 
particularly  in  the  camp  of  American  Reform 
Israel. 

Reverend  Dr.  Stephen  S.  Wise  had  a  long 

[45] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

established  friendship  with  former  President 
Woodrow  Wilson.  This  fact  improved  mat- 
ters considerably.  Wise  is  an  ultra-radical 
exponent  of  Eeform  Judaism,  but  his  connec- 
tion with  Zionism  dates  back  to  its  very  in- 
ception, when  he  was  in  his  early  twenties. 
He  had  interested  Justice  Brandeis,  Judge 
Mack  and  other  influential  American  Jews, 
all  of  whom  happened  to  be  Democrats. 
They  were  quite  a  family  of  important  men 
to  advise  and  interest  former  President  Wil- 
son in  Zionism.  This  fact  brought  about  the 
happy  result  that  the  infamous  memorandum 
presented  by  some  fifty-seven  American  Re- 
form Rabbis  and  representatives  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Jewish  Women,  should  receive  no  at- 
tention. 

The  Jewish  Congress  backed  up  the  work 
of  the  Zionists  at  Versailles.  Then  came  the 
San  Remo  decision.  Great  Britain  was  given 
the  mandate  over  Palestine.  Next  came  the 
pogroms  in  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem,  the  protests 
from  the  Arabs  and  the  complications  due  to 
the  failure  of  the  Wilson  policies  in  the 
United  States  Senate. 

This  last  chapter  of  American  political  his- 
tory directly  affected  the  world's  Jewry.  The 
American  Jews,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
project  of  the  League  of  Nations  fell  through 

[46] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

in  the  United  States  Senate,  lost  faith  in  the 
powers  of  the  League  of  Nations.  Without 
America,  to  them  it  was  Hamlet  with  the 
"Prince  of  Denmark"  left  out.  The  political 
situation,  due  to  the  protest  the  American 
State  Department  entered  against  all  man- 
dates, both  in  the  Near  and  in  the  Far  East, 
became  critical  if  not  alarming. 

The  Jewish  people  were  put  to  the  test  by 
Great  Britain.  Funds  were  necessary;  work 
had  to  be  commenced.  The  Holuzim  immi- 
grated in  Palestine  and  employment  for  them 
had  to  be  found.  Dr.  Weizmann,  President  of 
the  World  Zionist  Organization,  came  to  Amer- 
ica. To  his  despair,  he  found  a  very  strange 
spirit  greeting  him.  A  change  had  taken  place 
in  the  hearts  and  in  the  minds  of  the  great 
leaders  of  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America. 
They  were  against  Gegenswartarbeit;  they 
were  for  Gesaefts-Zionismus.  They  were 
against  Diaspora  nationalism;  they  were  for 
political  Zionism  of  the  West-European  color. 
They  believed  in  corporations,  but  were  against 
one  common  fund  for  all  activities,  known  as 
the  Keren  Hayesod. 

The  Cleveland  Convention  came.  There 
the  issues  were  joined  and  the  situation 
cleared.  The  real  question  of  the  hour  was 
not  exactly  money;  it  was  the  political  sit- 

[47] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

uation.  The  only  help  possible  had  to  come 
from  America.  With  all  the  great  leaders 
removed  from  Zionist  activities,  the  everyday 
Zionists  knew  not  how  to  begin,  but  the  work 
had  to  be  done. 

American  statesmen,  as  the  history  of 
America  conclusively  proves,  have  ever  lis- 
tened, even  from  the  most  humble  mouth,  to 
good  reasoning  and  worthy  causes.  I  knew  it. 

Moreover,  the  American  people  as  a  whole 
and  the  American  statesmen  as  individuals  do 
not  like  timidity,  back-door  politics,  or  what 
we  may  call  in  Hebrew,  Stadlonot.  If  one  has 
to  make  a  move,  the  Americans  like  to  see  a 
straightforward,  bold  and  accurate  move. 
The  Irish  wanted  freedom  for  Ireland.  They 
also  wanted  the  sympathy  of  the  American 
people.  They  went  for  it  in  the  most  ordi- 
nary manner.  A  resolution  was  brought  into 
the  United  States  Senate,  expressing  the  sym- 
pathy of  America  with  Ireland.  That  was 
indeed  a  bold  move — a  resolution  on  its  face 
contrary  to  the  interests  of  a  friendly  nation, 
but  because  a  small  people  was  struggling 
against  a  powerful  state,  the  spirit  of  fair 
play  and  the  sympathy  for  the  under-dog 
prevailed. 

This  decided  me  without  hesitation  to  make 
the  most  direct  move  possible;  to  open  the 

[48] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

question  and  solve  it.  A  resolution  in  the  House 
I  did  not  consider  at  all  necessary.  The  whole 
matter  had  to  do  with  the  policy  of  our  State 
Department.  The  Senate  is  the  co-power  with 
the  President  in  confirming  treaties.  I  there- 
fore concluded  that  a  resolution  of  sympathy 
toward  the  Zionist  cause  in  the  United  States 
Senate  would  show  England  that  America  is 
not  at  all  against  Zionism  as  such;  much  less 
against  Palestine  as  a  homeland  for  the  Jewish 
people.  On  the  other  hand,  America  had  a 
direct  interest  to  open  new  channels  for  Jew- 
ish immigration. 

How  the  Palestine  resolution  was  initiated 
and  who  its  real  authors  and  promoters  were, 
is  now  a  matter  of  history;  and  in  justice  to 
history  and  truth,  a  record  of  the  Palestine 
resolution  up  until  the  minute  Senator  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge  introduced  it,  is  outlined  in  this 
work. 

August  14,  1922.     (Ab.  20  5G32.) 


GLAZER, 

Rabbi  of  the  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City. 


[40] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  CLEVELAND  CONVENTION 

The  issues  between  the  Keren  Hayesod  and 
the  Mack-Brandeis  groups  were  joined  long 
before  the  call  for  the  Cleveland  Convention  was 
issued.  Dr.  Chaim  Weizmann,  Dr.  Schmarya 
Levin,  Engineer  Menahan  Mendel  Ussischkin 
and  Dr.  Ben  Zion  Mossinsohn  were  the  Big 
Four  of  the  Keren  Hayesod  forces.  Judge 
Julian  Mack,  Professor  Felix  Frankfurter, 
Rev.  Stephen  S.  Wise,  with  Supreme  Court 
Justice  Louis  D.  Brandeis  in  the  background, 
were  the  Big  Four  of  the  then  Zionist  Admin- 
istration forces. 

On  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Weizmann,  tem- 
porary headquarters  of  the  Keren  Hayesod, 
Ltd.,  were  opened  at  50  Union  Square,  New 
York  City.  Dr.  Weizmann,  President  of  the 
World  Zionist  Organization,  temporarily  dis- 
regarded his  exalted  office  and  yielded  to  the 
needs  of  the  hour,  by  visiting  various  communi- 
ties in  the  interests  of  the  Keren  Hayesod.  The 
headquarters  of  the  Zionist  Organization  of 
America,  at  55  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  had 
meantime  become  hopelessly  divided.  Many  of 

[51] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  paid  executive  heads  of  departments  de- 
serted their  erstwhile  superiors  and  joined 
forces  with  the  Keren  Hayesod. 

The  Yiddish  press  throughout  the  country 
emphatically  and  unequivocally  endorsed  the 
stand  of  Dr.  Weizmann  and  his  associates,  with 
the  sole  exception  of  the  Jewish  Daily  News, 
which  continued  to  plead  for  harmony.  The 
American-Jewish  weeklies  and  kindred  period- 
icals were  divided  on  the  question,  with  an  ap- 
parent majority  in  favor  of  the  Mack-Brandeis 
group. 

The  masterly  handling  of  the  entire  situation 
by  Louis  Lipsky  foredoomed  the  defeat  of  the 
Zionist  Administration  forces  at  the  Cleveland 
Convention.  Being  a  veteran  of  the  Zionist 
movement  in  America  from  its  very  inception, 
Lipsky  got  in  touch  with  everyone  whom  he 
knew  as  likely  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the 
Keren  Hayesod.  Innocently  or  deliberately,  he 
judged  the  temper  of  every  community  psy- 
chologically correct.  He  knew  beforehand 
what  community  would  be  represented  by  a 
Keren  Hayesod  delegate  and  what  community 
would  endorse  the  Administration  forces.  Al- 
though a  native  American,  he  himself  has  the 
aspect  of  the  Weizmann  view  rather  than  that 
of  the  Brandeis  school. 

On  Friday,  June  3,  1921,  the  early  delegates 

[52] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

were  thrilled  with  the  announcement  that  "Dr. 
Weizmann  has  arrived."  A  moment  later  a 
majority  of  them  were  chilled  with  the  an- 
nouncement that  "Judge  Mack  is  in  the  hotel." 
Despite  the  thermometer,  which  registered 
around  ninety,  the  appearance  of  any  opposi- 
tion delegate,  as  the  Administration  forces  be- 
came known,  had  the  effect  of  creating  a 
Coast-of-Labrador-like  temperature  in  the 
lobby  of  the  hotel.  It  was  a  study  in  American 
Jewish  psychology;  it  was  more  than  a  study 
in  Zionism.  Anyone  claiming  nativity  in  some 
West-European  country,  not  to  speak  of  Ameri- 
can nativity,  was  at  once  classified  as  a  Mack- 
Brandeis  man.  Anyone  incapable  of  restraint 
when  he  or  she  wanted  to  talk,  or  anyone  mak- 
ing inquiry  as  to  where  and  when  one  "can  get 
something  homey  to  eat,"  at  once  received  a 
hearty  handshake  with  the  universal  password 
of  "Sholom." 

Saturday,  June  5th,  was  spent  mainly  in  lis- 
tening to  or  being  engaged  in  a  new  kind  of 
Zionist  homeletics  and  exegesis. 

One  outstanding  feature  will  forever  re- 
main lingering  in  my  memory.  Not  one 
ill  expression,  even  by  the  most  rabid  fire- 
brand among  the  Keren  Hayesod  delegates, 
was  uttered  against  Brandeis.  Toward  eve- 
ning I  encountered  a  group  of  Keren  Haye- 
sod delegates.  They  represented  different 

[53] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

communities — East,  West,  North  and  South, 
and  all  of  them  were  American  citi- 
zens. They  were  denouncing  the  Administra- 
tion forces;  they  were  decrying  the  opposition 
to  the  principle  of  maaser,  which  is  a  Biblical 
principle,  and  therefore,  according  to  them 
blasphemous  to  advocate  its  elimination  in  con- 
nection with  the  Keren  Hayesod.  They  men- 
tioned names,  but  during  the  entire  argument 
the  name  of  Brandeis  -was  mentioned  only 
once,  and  that  with  reverence.  I  wanted  to 
find  out  the  cause.  The  unanimous  reply  was : 
"Brandeis  as  a  Zionist  is  a  failure;  but  he  is  a 
great  judge,  a  member  of  the  greatest  juridical 
tribunal  in  the  world."  This  answer  was  con- 
vincing to  me  that  when  it  came  to  the  ques- 
tion of  America  and  Americanism,  there  was 
no  division.  I  felt  elated  to  discover  this  happy 
situation. 

On  Saturday  night  a  lineup  of  forces  took 
place.  The  late  Professor  Gothard  Deutsch  and 
I  were  sitting  in  the  lobby,  when  a  breathless 
delegate  invited  me  to  hurry  to  a  conference 
in  this  fashion:  "I  am  Chona.  I  know  you 
are  a  Yid  and  you  will  not  disgrace  Kansas 
City  by  going  to  the  Goishe  meeting  of  Judge 
Mack.  Judge  Dannenbaum  and  Lipsky  are 
to  address  the  Keren  Hayesod  delegates." 

The  argument  of  Chona  was  not  convincing 

[54] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

to  Dr.  Deutsch,  but  it  was  convincing  enough 
to  me,  and  I  went  directly  to  the  conference  of 
Judge  Mack.  But  to  my  great  disappointment, 
I  noticed  about  a  dozen  or  so  delegates  engaged 
in  a  polite  conversation  with  the  Judge,  which 
I  was  disinclined  to  interrupt. 

In  the  conference  room  called  by  Lipsky,  I 
found  an  assembly  of  at  least  three  hundred 
people,  mostly  delegates,  roaring  with  laughter 
at  the  recital,  by  Judge  Dannenbaum,  of  the 
proposed  "Texas  Palestine  Refrigerating 
Plant"  under  a  Delaware  charter,  as  Jacob  De 
Haas  sponsored  it  at  Houston,  Tex. 

My  own  mind  remained  open  for  conviction. 
Above  all,  I  desired  to  find  out  whether 
the  underlying  current  of  the  strife  was  strong 
on  account  of  principles,  or  whether  the  whole 
situation  was  created  on  account  of  person- 
alities. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  at  the 
ball  room  of  the  Cleveland  Hotel  by  Judge 
Mack.  The  question  of  a  Chairman  of  the  con- 
vention was  at  once  raised.  In  a  moment  the 
words,  "Tammany,"  "police  court,"  and  "Free 
Synagogue,"  filled  the  air.  Judge  Rosenblatt 
and  Stephen  Wise  had  the  floor  simultaneously. 
Judge  Mack  and  Judge  Dannenbaum  were 
placed  in  nomination.  I  did  not  vote.  Dannen- 
baum was  elected  chairman  by  an  overwhelm- 

[55] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ing  majority.  Weizmann  and  his  colleagues 
of  the  Keren  Hayesod  Big  Four  knew  that  they 
had  conquered  the  Mack-Brandeis  group. 
Ussischkin,  having  in  the  entire  history  of 
political  Zionism  opposed  Herzl  and  everyone 
who  savored  with  West-European  culture,  felt 
elated  in  his  belief  that  henceforth  none  but 
the  leaders  of  the  East-European  school  will 
dominate  the  destinies  of  the  new  Palestine. 

During  the  night  session,  Judge  Dannen- 
baum,  Chairman  of  the  Convention,  surprised 
me  very  much  by  calling  upon  me  to  address 
the  convention. 

Not  having  anticipated  such  a  call  and  real- 
izing that  no  other  Orthodox  Rabbi  of  among 
the  delegates  would  be  called  upon  to  address 
the  convention,  my  decision  was  instantaneous. 

In  the  report  of  the  convention  an  excerpt 
of  my  speech  appears  and  is  as  follows: 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  Fellow  Delegates:  I 
highly  appreciate  the  honor  that  has  been  ac- 
corded me,  and  I  deem  it  a  privilege  to  be  able 
to  speak  to  you  a  few  minutes  and  to  reveal 
to  you  the  thoughts  that  came  into  my  mind 
this  afternoon,  when  I  saw  our  great  leader 
sitting  on  this  platform  and  listening  to  what 
has  been  said. 

"Fellow  delegates,  I  know  that  there  are 
differences,  and  I  give  voice  to  my  sentiments 

[56] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

that  insofar  as  the  Keren  Hayesod  is  concerned, 
I  am  with  you  heart  and  soul.  I  believe  that 
we  must  have  a  common  fund  to  finance  the 
establishment  of  a  national  homeland  in  Pales- 
tine. I  also  believe  that  now  is  not  the  time 
to  count  cents  and  dollars.  Now  is  the  time 
to  save  precious  lives.  Now  is  not  the  time  to 
take  to  task  our  great  leaders  when  confronted 
by  the  enemy,  and  enemies  we  have  from  with- 
in and  without.  We  do  not  have  to  go  very  far 
to  find  the  enemies  of  Israel.  I  have  served 
for  the  past  twenty-five  years  the  most  humble 
of  the  American  Jewish  people.  I  appeal  to 
you  now,  in  the  name  of  all  Rabbis  in  America, 
who  trust  that  at  this  convention  wo  shall  not 
lose  a  single  member  of  the  Zionist  Organiza- 
tion of  America.  Let  us  see  if  we  cannot 
establish  harmony." 

The  Jewish  Daily  News  of  New  York,  hav- 
ing been  the  only  newspaper  to  advocate  har- 
mony, featured  part  of  my  speech  which  does 
not  appear  in  the  records  of  the  convention. 
No  motion  was  made  by  anyone  to  have  any 
part  of  my  speech  expunged  from  the  records ; 
I  therefore  cannot  account  why  the  meat  of 
my  speech  was  not  reported.  Moreover,  all 
delegates  surely  do  remember,  that  when  I  ex- 
pressed the  sentiment  that,  "It  is  my  belief 
and  firm  conviction  that  if  the  Administration, 

[57] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

now  in  the  minority  at  this  convention,  would 
be  given  to  understand  that  insofar  as  America 
is  concerned,  the  Keren  Hayesod  can  be  estab- 
lished on  the  principle  of  a  'free-will  offering' 
instead  of  that  of  maaser,  peace  could  still  be 
obtained  and  the  question  of  persons  could  be 
settled  at  a  round-table  circle,"  all  delegates  ex- 
pressed in  no  mistaken  terms  their  approval  of 
the  sentiment. 

Of  course,  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Keren  Hayesod ;  but  insofar  as  the 
principle  of  maaser  as  applicable  to  the  Keren 
Hayesod  is  concerned,  it  was  not  a  necessary 
element  for  the  success  of  the  Keren  Hayesod. 
Experience  during  the  past  year  has  convinced 
everyone  who  was  interested  in  raising  funds 
for  the  Keren  Hayesod  that  the  principle  of 
maaser  can  not  be  followed  at  all,  unless  Ein- 
stein's theory  of  relativity  was  employed. 

For  example:  Mr.  Yekel  Amronowitz  is 
worth,  according  to  the  accredited  rating  agen- 
cies, $100,000.  His  net  earnings  during  a  given 
year,  according  to  his  books,  are  approximately 
$10,000.  His  revolving  fund,  according  to  his 
bank  statement,  is  a  $3,000  balance  at  the  end 
of  every  month,  and  $25,000  to  $28,000  in  cur- 
rent assets,  most  of  which  is  also  current  lia- 
bilities in  the  form  of  notes  held  by  his  banker. 
Now  comes  the  Keren  Hayesod  collector  and 

[58] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

says  to  him,  "Mr.  Amronowitz,  give  us  maaser. 
We  see  that  you  are  worth  $100,000.  You  there- 
fore owe  the  Keren  Hayesod  $10,000."     Mr. 
Amronowitz  is  an  ardent  Zionist,  a  great  be- 
liever in  the  Keren  Hayesod,  and  really  anxious 
to  give.    His  answer  will  doubtless  be  that  com- 
paratively speaking,  or  relatively  so,  he  prob- 
ably has  book  assets  aggregating  $100,000.  The 
best  he  can  do  is  to  show  his  income  tax  report. 
Mr.  Amronowitz  is  a  trustworthy  citizen,  and 
his  attorney  told  him  that  he  has  no  right  to 
claim  that  he  is  worth  $100,000  merely  because 
his  books  show  it.     He  has  to  take  in  consid- 
eration depreciation  of  values  in  his  rolling 
stock,  fixtures,  property,  bad  debts,  contingent 
claims,  and  the  possible  losses  due  to  the  un- 
stable character  of  prices  of  the  merchandise 
he  handles.     What  he  must  do  in  his  income 
tax  report  is  to  give  his  net  earnings.    Under 
such  circumstances,  Mr.  Amronowitz  thereupon 
will  be  asked  to  give  maaser  from  his  income 
which    according   to    his    income    tax    report, 
should   amount  to   $1,000.     Mr.   Amronowitz, 
still  being  a  Zionist  and  a  patron  of  the  Keren 
Hayesod,  v/ill  say  in  all  honesty:     "Compara- 
tively speaking  I  have  made  last  year  $10,000. 
Relatively  so,  I  had  a  very  good  year ;  but  gen- 
tlemen, take  in  consideration  all  other  expendi- 
tures that  I  had  incurred  during  the  year,  and 

[59] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

also  deduct  the  necessary  living  expenses  for 
myself  and  family,  and  you  will  find  that  my 
actual  surplus  amounted  to  $1,250."  Therefore, 
at  best,  if  Mr.  Amronowitz  would  contribute 
to  the  Keren  Hayesod  $125  per  annum,  barring 
all  accidents  to  his  credit,  his  net  income  and 
his  book  assets,  he  still  would,  relatively  speak- 
ing, be  complying  with  the  principle  of  maascr. 

Conversely,  if  the  Keren  Hayesod  collector 
would  go  to  Mr.  Amronowitz  and  say  to  him: 
"Mr.  Amronowitz,  you  are  a  Zionist  and  a  be- 
liever in  the  Keren  Hayesod;  give  us  a  free- 
will offering  to  the  full  extent  of  your  ability. 
We  have  no  other  means  of  persuasion  save 
only  that  of  an  appeal  to  your  own  conscience," 
the  result  would  perhaps  be  double  the  amount 
or  more.  Anyone  experienced  in  the  psychol- 
ogy of  the  average  Jewish  citizen  will  agree 
with  the  latter  view. 

As  the  convention  proceeded  to  the  business 
of  the  day,  it  became  clear  to  me  that  back  of 
the  whole  strife  was  the  underlying  desire  for 
a  change  in  leadership  in  American  Zionism. 
The  delegates,  by  their  repeated  action  in  sup- 
porting the  anti-Administrative  forces  with 
overwhelming  majorities  upon  every  question, 
manifested  that  leadership  in  American  Israel 
can  never  be  wrested  from  the  Jewish  masses, 
nor  ever  sustained  contrary  to  their  expressed 
will. 

[60] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Of  course,  the  position  of  Weizmann  was 
more  advantageous  than  that  of  Brandeis. 
\Veizmann  is  himself  a  product  of  eastern  Eu- 
rope, who  received  the  finishing  touches  of  his 
culture  in  a  west-European  environment.  His 
earnestness,  his  divine  art  of  making  appeals, 
and  his  dignified  attitude  toward  his  opponents 
won  for  him  the  battle  before  the  convention 
was  twenty-four  hours  old.  He  was  the  ac- 
cused, with  the  real  accuser  (Brandeis)  not 
being  there  in  person,  but  represented  by 
proxy.  Mack,  Frankfurter,  Wise,  De  Haas  and 
the  lesser  lights  could  not  measure  up  to  or 
attain  the  height  of  Weizmann. 

Technical  questions,  such  as  co-mingling  of 
funds,  extravagant  salaries,  Palestinian  malar- 
ia, Jabotinsky's  brand  of  fire,  Simon  and  De 
Lieme's  action  at  the  London  Conference  in 
1920,  Diaspora  nationalism,  Gegenswartarbeit 
Keren  Hayesod  dividends  in  its  relation  to 
American  income  tax,  or  Geschaeftszionismus, 
might  be  facts  to  be  dealt  with  by  Professor 
Frankfurter,  who  has  a  way  of  desiring  "facts 
and  facts  only";  but  the  majority  of  the  dele- 
gates, and,  as  I  was  sincerely  convinced,  the 
majority  of  the  Jewish  people,  are  mainly  in- 
terested in  one  fact:  the  establishment  of  a 
national  home  for  the  Jewish  people  in  Pales- 
tine. 

[61] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Ussischkin  has  sinned  more  than  in  having 
co-mingled  the  various  Zionist  funds  in  his  ca- 
pacity as  head  of  the  Zionist  Administration 
in  Palestine.  He  caused  Dr.  Herzl  much  worry. 
He  always  maintained  that  he  was  a  practical 
Zionist.  No  greater  dreamer  stood  before  that 
convention  than  he.  Being  of  a  temperament 
the  like  of  which  no  other  Zionist  leader  pos- 
sesses, he  could  not  conceive  how  one  could 
think  in  terms  of  method  and  efficiency.  He, 
therefore,  follows  the  inclination  of  his  own 
philosophy ;  thus  when  he  dreams  of  something 
to  be  attained,  he  employs  direct  action,  and 
breaks  every  knot.  Such  things  as  systematic 
bookkeeping,  principles  of  economy,  method  of 
procedure,  division  of  authority  or  separation 
of  funds,  do  not  at  all  exist  there.  Despite 
everything  impractical  he  does,  one  must  agree 
with  him  when  it  conies  to  results.  He  pur- 
chased the  land  in  the  Vale  of  Jezrael,  and 
permitted  the  whole  Zionist  Organization  of  the 
World  to  argue  out  the  technical  points  after 
the  purchase  was  made. 

Zionism  is  not  a  case  to  be  tried  out  by  law- 
yers and  obtain  either  a  conviction  or  an  ac- 
quittal on  technical  grounds.  Perhaps  the  pun- 
ishment inflicted  upon  the  erstwhile  leaders  of 
the  Administration  was  too  severe.  I  stand  on 
record  as  having  voted  for  the  administering 

[62] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

of  that  rebuke,  not  because  I  believed  that 
everything  Weizmann  and  his  associates  did 
was  right  and  everything  Brandeis  and  his 
associates  did  was  wrong,  but  merely  as  a  prin- 
ciple to  be  emulated  in  Jewish  history,  when- 
ever and  wherever  great  leaders  will  commence 
to  believe  that  the  Jewish  people  could  not  and 
would  not  get  along  without  them. 

I  saw  before  me  a  terrible  battlefield  strewn 
with  bodies  of  countless  victims  of  war,  po- 
groms, massacres  and  mob  violence.  I  saw 
before  me  a  vast  desert  filled  with  countless 
men  and  women,  terror  upon  their  faces,  living 
in  the  shadow  of  death,  their  hands  stretched 
out  heavenward  in  an  appeal  to  God  to  help 
them.  And  I  saw  great  men,  sitting  in  judg- 
ment upon  the  fate  of  these  countless  victims. 
Months  are  being  spent  in  dragging  out  argu- 
ments in  order  to  make  a  case  against  some 
other  great  men  who  are  likewise  sitting  in 
judgment  to  decide  the  fate  of  those  victims. 
Instead  of  hearing  words  of  comfort,  solace 
and  cheer,  I  saw  stern  faces  and  heard  power- 
ful voices  proclaiming,  "Unless  we  have  our 
own  way  we  shall  not  continue  to  do  those  great 
things  we  are  able  to  do  nor  lift  a  finger  in 
an  effort  to  help  those  victims  any  further." 
There  and  then  I  became  as  hardened  as  one 
of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  felt  within  my 

[63] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

heart  of  hearts  that  if  there  is  any  punishment 
to  be  visited  upon  the  heads  of  such  leaders, 
now  is  the  time,  and  forever  may  they  lose 
leadership  in  Israel  unless  they  repent. 

The  Balfour  Declaration  had  originally  been 
framed  with  the  second  half  of  that  famous 
declaration  reading  after  the  word  "enjoyed": 
"in  any  other  country  by  such  Jews  who  are 
fully  contented  with  their  existing  nationality 
and  citizenship."  Such  an  insertion  in  the  Bal- 
four Declaration  would  have  created  extraordi- 
nary antagonism  against  Zionism  on  the  part 
of  Jewish  citizens  in  countries  where  they  en- 
joy full  civic  rights.  The  Declaration  as 
framed,  with  that  clause  in  it,  was  cabled  to 
America  and  amended  in  its  present  form  at 
the  suggestion  of  Jacob  De  Haas. 

Dr.  Weizmann  in  his  speech  before  the  Con- 
vention had  failed  to  acknowledge  that  service 
rendered  by  the  American  Zionist  Organization. 
Judge  Mack,  at  the  last  hours  of  the  conven- 
tion, after  he  had  already  tendered  his  own 
resignation  along  with  the  resignations  of  all 
the  erstwhile  leaders,  wired  to  him  protesting 
the  omission,  just  as  if  the  convention  had  been 
called  together  for  the  purpose  of  compliment- 
ing this  or  that  leader  for  work  done,  or  for 
services  rendered. 

The  political  work  accomplished  in  America 

[64] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

for  the  Zionist  cause  must  not  and  cannot  be 
underestimated.  The  man  that  actually  did  the 
work  is  no  other  than  Stephen  S.  Wise.  Through 
a  long  acquaintance  with  former  President 
Woodrow  Wilson,  he  was  able  to  make  clear  to 
him  the  Zionist  aspirations.  Of  course,  the 
presence  of  Brandeis  in  the  councils  of  the 
Zionist  Administration  of  America  added  to 
the  movement  much  prestige;  but  to  withhold 
such  prestige  at  a  critical  time  on  account  of 
technicalities,  even  if  such  technicalities  are 
essential  to  the  temporary  local  administra- 
tion of  affairs  by  the  World  Zionist  Organiza- 
tion, was  nothing  short  of  a  gross  error,  fit 
only  for  great  minds.  Only  the  great  can  make 
such  great  mistakes. 

When  Judge  Mack  read  to  the  convention  the 
letter  of  resignation  from  Justice  Brandeis,  and 
tendered  the  resignations  of  Felix  Frankfurter, 
Stephen  Wise,  Jacob  De  Haas  and  other  Zionist 
veterans,  the  feelings  of  the  delegates  were 
such  that  many  were  overcome  and  wept  open- 
ly. I  confess  that  at  that  moment  I  was  not  at 
all  weak.  I  could  not  see  it  that  way.  Like 
others,  I  felt  that  the  political  situation,  because 
of  the  withdrawal  of  so  many  great  American 
Jews  from  Zionist  activities,  would  be  very 
much  aggravated ;  but  I  also  felt  within  my  soul 
that  American  statesmen,  in  a  real  great  ques- 

[65] 


tion,  such  as  would  touch  the  foreign  relations 
between  this  and  other  countries,  would  never 
do  anything  because  this  or  that  great  person 
desired  it.  Conversely,  if  the  cause  itself  be 
just,  and  I  knew  all  my  life  that  the  Zionist 
cause  is  just,  the  American  statesmen  would 
listen  to  the  most  humble  Jewish  citizen  with 
the  same  attentive  ears  as  they  would  to  the 
greatest  Jew  living. 

I  also  was  reminded  of  what  American 
statemen  had  accomplished  for  other  oppressed 
nationalities,  particularly  that  of  Ireland.  I 
at  once  felt  relieved  and  knew  that  the  only 
solution  to  the  problem  politically  was  to  make 
the  boldest  move  possible.  I  knew  that  action 
by  the  State  Department  is  a  slow  process.  I 
determined  to  get  direct  action.  The  only  di- 
rect action  possible  was  a  resolution  favoring 
Palestine  as  the  national  homeland  of  the  Jew- 
ish people  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

Addressing  the  mass  meeting  at  the  Cleve- 
land Chamber  of  Commerce  I  concluded  by 
saying  that,  "with  a  just  cause  half  of  the  battle 
is  won,  and  with  united  efforts  the  other  half 
will  be  much  easier." 


[66] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  II. 
SOUTHWESTERN  KEREN  HAYESOD  CONFERENCE. 

The  most  practical  resolutions  adopted  at  the 
Cleveland  convention  are  Paragraps  V,  VI  and 
VIII,  as  reported  by  the  Zionist  organization 
of  America  (1921  Cleveland  Convention). 

PARAGRAPH  V. 

"The  Twenty-fourth  annual  Zionist  conven- 
tion resolves,  that,  The  Keren  Hayesod,  while 
remaining  under  the  control  of  the  World  Zion- 
ist organization,  shall  be  so  constituted  that  it 
shall  function  here  in  America  as  a  democratic 
agency,  and  that,  with  that  end  in  view,  pro- 
visions shall  be  made  for  the  participation  in 
the  management  of  the  Keren  Hayesod  bureau 
by  all  Jewish  groups,  parties  and  organizations 
desirous  of  co-operating  in  the  work." 

PARAGRAPH  VI. 

"Whereas,  the  resolutions  adopted  at  the  Lon- 
don convention  specifically  provide  that  'at  least 
twenty  per  cent  of  the  funds  collected  by  the 
Keren  Hayesod  shall  be  given  to  the  Jewish 
National  Fund,'  and  'of  the  further  funds  col- 

[67] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

lected  not  more  than  one-third  shall  be  spent 
in  current  expenditures  for  education,  social 
welfare,  immigration  and  philanthropic  pur- 
poses in  Palestine  for  the  building  up  of  the 
Jewish  national  home,  while  at  least  two-thirds 
are  to  be  invested  in  permanent  national  in- 
stitutions or  economic  undertakings/  and  'that 
the  holders  of  certificates  will  participate  in 
the  administration  of  the  fund  and  in  the  reve- 
nue of  the  economic  undertakings  established 
by  the  fund,'  and 

"Whereas,  the  Jews  of  America,  may,  and 
should,  in  view  of  their  relative  economic  posi- 
tion, be  expected  to  forego  any  gains  or  emolu- 
ments that  may  be  derived  from  the  economic 
undertakings  of  the  Keren  Hayesod." 

"We  call  upon  and  urge  all  Jewish  contrib- 
utors to  the  Keren  Hayesod  to  designate  their 
contributions  as  free-offerings,  assigning  to  the 
World  Zionist  Organization,  any  and  all  of  their 
property  rights  in  the  Keren  Hayesod,  reserv- 
ing to  themselves  all  other  rights  as  members." 

"And  we  direct  the  incoming  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America, 
to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  carry  out  the 
purpose  of  this  resolution." 

PARAGRAPH  VIII. 
"The  Convention  declares  that,  in  the  inter- 

[68] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

est  of  the  cause,  it  is  essential  that  the  con- 
troversy over  the  Keren  Hayesod  in  this  coun- 
try publicly  engaged  in  by  opposing  groups 
within  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America, 
shall  forthwith  come  to  an  end.  The  resolu- 
tions of  the  Keren  Hayesod  as  adopted  in  this 
convention  call  for  the  immediate,  complete 
and  unstinted  co-operation  on  the  part  of  all 
Zionists,  regardless  of  their  views  as  indivi- 
duals, so  that  the  constructive  work  in  Palestine 
may  suffer  no  further  delay,  and  we  affirm 
our  deep  conviction  that  the  example  set  by 
the  members  of  the  Zionist  Organization  of 
America,  in  giving  their  whole-hearted  support 
to  the  Keren  Hayesod  will  be  followed  by  the 
Jews  of  America  at  large,  and  that  through 
the  Keren  Hayesod,  the  Jews  of  this  country 
will  make  their  maximum  contribution  for  the 
upbuilding  of  Erez  Ysroel." 

In  these  resolutions  I  discovered  a  sincere 
desire  on  behalf  of  the  incoming  Administra- 
tion to  eliminate  controversy  and  strife  and  to 
have  all  factions  united  for  the  Keren  Hayesod. 
Moreover,  from  them  three  far-reaching 
principles  evolved:  (a)  Suffrage  on  a 
democratic  basis,  by  permitting  direct  par- 
ticipation of  all  groups  as  such,  in  the  work  of 
the  Keren  Hayesod;  (b)  "Free  Offering" 
rather  than  investment  for  American  Israel 

[69] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

can  be  interpreted  to  mean  only  as  an  invita- 
tion to  non-Zionist  elements  who  are  inclined 
to  help  on  philanthropic  grounds;  (c)  by  the 
positive  declaration  that  "all  strife  shall  come 
to  an  end,"  the  incoming  Administration  per- 
manently established  the  principle  of  majority 
rule,  regardless  of  what  persons  the  minority 
may  be  composed  of. 

Convinced  that  unless  the  masses  of  all 
groups  be  reached,  the  whole  scheme  of  the 
Keren  Hayesod  in  America,  complicated  as  it 
was  from  its  very  inception,  would  be  an  inglori- 
ous failure;  and  although  the  resolution  called 
for  co-operation  of  all  groups,  which  in  itself 
would  justify  the  calling  of  conferences  even 
of  non-Zionist  elements  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
sisting the  Keren  Hayesod  without  asking  fur- 
ther authority,  I,  nevertheless,  consulted,  first 
Dr.  Weizmann,  and  then  several  members  of  the 
newly  elected  Administrative  committee,  prin- 
cipally Lipsky,  Conheim  and  Goldberg,  as  to 
the  advisability  of  calling  a  conference  of  Jew- 
ish representatives  of  various  organizations  in 
the  states  of  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Nebraska 
and  Oklahoma. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  necessary  to  point 
out  that  c-1  May  27,  1921,  in  a  letter  to 
Louis  Lipsky  I  proposed  a  conference  of 
the  executives  of  the  several  Zionist  districts 

[70] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

within  those  five  states.  I  then  considered, 
that  in  view  of  the  differences  within  the  Zion- 
ist Organization  of  America,  every  district 
should  be  prepared  for  any  and  all  eventualities. 

When  I  requested  the  newly-elected  Admin- 
istrative committee  to  authorize  a  Southwestern 
Keren  Hayesod  conference,  only  two  persons 
within  the  Zionist  ranks  knew  part  of  the  real 
motive  behind  the  plan.  One  was  Weizmann. 
After  I  had  addressed  the  second  session  of  the 
convention,  Weizmann  invited  me  to  meet  with 
him  later  that  night.  I  anticipated  something 
significant,  as  the  invitation  from  Weizmann 
came  at  the  suggestion,  I  think,  of  Ussischkin. 

Dr.  Weizmann's  most  telling  statement  to  me 
was,  that  back  of  this  anxiety  for  funds  was  a 
political  reason.  "Great  Britain  had  to  be  shown 
the  good  faith  of  the  Jewish  people.  Such  good 
faith  can  be  manifested  only  by  commencing 
earnestly  to  construct  and  settle  Palestine  with 
Jewish  money  and  men.  The  fact  that  funds 
are  coming  in  so  slow,  and  in  such  small  sums, 
created  a  critical  situation  politically." 

The  idea  to  make  the  boldest  move  possible,  in 
order  to  eliminate  all  fear  from  the  political 
horizon,  came  to  me  at  that  moment.  I  knew  that 
Dr.  Weizmann  would  have  rejected  the  whole 
plan,  in  fact  would  have  stopped  me  at  once  from 

[71] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

even  imparting  the  plan  to  anyone  in  the  world, 
for  he  continued  to  express  fear  of  complica- 
tions and  misinterpretations  in  any  statement 
or  act  of  any  delegate  at  the  convention.  His 
attack  on  Stephen  Wise  in  his  speech  before 
the  sixth  session  of  the  convention,  was  based 
upon  a  statement  made  by  Wise  that  "we  do 
not  want  Palestine  as  a  Uritish  Crown  colony." 
I  therefore  decided  to  merely  state  to  Weiz- 
mann  that  the  American  Southwest  may,  some- 
time in  the  future,  be  of  some  help  politically 
to  our  cause,  as  there  is  absolutely  no  anti- 
Semitism  in  the  minds  of  any  statesmen  elected 
by  the  southwestern  people  to  represent  them, 
either  locally  or  nationally. 

To  initiate  such  preliminaries  which  may 
bring  effective  political  results,  I  pointed  out  to 
him,  it  was  necessary  to  interest  the  Southwest- 
ern Jews  themselves  in  Zionism  generally  and 
in  the  work  of  the  Keren  Hayesod  in  particular. 
To  obtain  such  ends  a  conference  in  the  south- 
west should  be  called.  Dr.  Weizmann  endorsed 
the  idea  enthusiastically. 

To  my  friend,  Max  Shulman  of  Chicago  I 
revealed  much  more  of  the  plan.  He  promised 
to  attend  the  conference  and  assist  in  the  work. 

Upon  my  return  to  Kansas  City  I  encoun- 
tered the  universal  difficulty  of  interesting  a 
large  number  of  people  in  a  work  which  up  till 

[72] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

that  time  was  conducted  by  a  limited  number 
of  people  who  had  not  the  least  inclination  to 
either  enlarge  the  number  of  representatives 
in  their  councils  or  extend  the  scope  of  repre- 
sentation from  outside  quarters.  Hardly  a 
synagogue,  as  such,  had  ever  taken  part  in 
Zionist  work  in  America.  This  was  not  the 
fault  of  the  synagogues  but  of  the  leaders  of 
Zionism  generally,  who  evidently  were  disin- 
clined to  permit  any  outside  influence  to  shade 
Zionism  with  possible  non-Zionist  colors. 

The  Mizrachi  was  founded  by  the  late  Rabbi 
Jacob  Reines  and  his  associates  with  a  view  of 
bringing  Zionism  into  the  synagogues.  The 
Mizrachi  in  America,  however,  endeavored  dur- 
ing the  few  years  of  its  activity  to  bring  the 
synagogues  into  the  Zionist  organization.  By 
reversing  this  principle  the  Mizrachi  here  failed 
even  after  it  attempted  to  bring  Zionism  into 
the  synagogue.  It  is  amazing  to  learn  that  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  greatest  majority  of 
the  American  Jews  are  whole-heartedly  behind 
the  Zionist  cause,  the  total  membership  of  all 
Zionist  groups  in  this  country  is  less  than  100,- 
000  out  of  a  Jewish  population  of  approximate- 
ly 3,000,000.  Back  of  this  lamentable  fact  lies 
the  indifferent  attitude  of  some  of  the  former 
leaders  of  American  Zionists  towards  the  syna- 
gogues as  such.  Jacob  de  Haas  is  an  example 

[73] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

of  one  of  the  arch-instigators  of  the  movement 
to  keep  the  religious  elements  out  of  the  Zion- 
ist movement.  Whether  or  not  he  had  the 
sanction  of  the  leaders  higher  up  is  problema- 
tical. The  fact  remains  that  the  Mizrachi  or- 
ganization was  practically  thrown  out  of  the 
Zionist  Organization  of  America  and  forced  to 
carry  on  the  work  of  propaganda  and  the  work 
of  collecting  funds  for  its  own  maintenance  at 
the  same  time. 

Analyzing  the  situation  with  particular  refer- 
ence to  conditions  here  in  the  southwest,  and 
being  mindful  of  the  Keren  Hayesod  resolu- 
tions as  passed  at  Cleveland,  I  was  forced  to 
issue  a  call  for  what  may  be  designated  as  a 
compromise  conference.  The  conference  itself 
was  called  under  the  auspices  of  the  local  Zion- 
ist Organization  but  representation  was  given 
to  such  organizations  as  were  known  to  be  in 
sympathy  with  the  Zionist  cause. 

An  exception  was  made  in  the  instance  of 
the  Kansas  City  Jewry  where  representation 
to  the  conference  was  given  to  the  United  Syna- 
gogues as  such.  Other  Jewries  in  the  south- 
west, not  being  so  organized,  could  not  receive 
such  an  invitation  to  participate  in  the  delibera- 
tions at  the  conference  in  order  not  to  em- 

[74] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

barrass  the  new  Zionist  Administration  with 
new  precedences.  The  date  decided  upon  was 
July  25-26,  and  the  place  the  Muehlebach  Hotel, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

The  call  for  the  conference  was  issued  July 
12,  1921.  The  Zionist  Organization  of  America 
as  well  as  the  temporary  organization  of  the 
Keren  Hayesod  both  were  of  great  assistance. 

Under  date  of  July  5,  1921,  Louis  Lipsky, 
general  secretary  of  the  Zionist  Administrative 
Committee,  wrote  to  me  as  follows : 

"My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer : 

We  are  making  every  effort  to  have  Mr.  Abe 
Goldberg  present  at  your  conference  July  25-26. 
Dr.  Mossinsohn  will  be  engaged  all  this  while 
in  New  England  and  we  cannot  transfer  him 
to  the  middle  west.  Mr.  Goldberg  will  spend 
probably  two  or  three  days  in  the  middle  west 
speaking  not  only  in  Kansas  City  but  in  other 
places  where  arrangements  have  been  made. 
Naturally  we  are  very  glad  to  hear  that  Kansas 
City  and  other  middle  western  cities  are  in 
favor  of  the  Keren  Hayesod.  We  have  to  meet 
the  extensive  propaganda  which  is  being  car- 
ried on  by  the  defeated  administration.  The 
only  way  we  can  meet  it  is  by  working  hard 

[751 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

for  the  Keren  Hayesod  and  clearing  up  the 
principles  upon  which  the  Keren  Hayesod  is 
based. 

Very  cordially  yours, 

Louis  LIPSKY, 
General  Secretary." 

Emanuel  Neumann,  executive  secretary  of 
the  temporary  organization  of  the  Keren 
Hayesod,  having  been  notified  that  the  con- 
ference would  be  held  here,  wired  as  follows: 

"New  York,  July  25,  1921. 

Keren  Hayesod  Conference. 

Care  Rabbi  Simon  Glazer,  2732  Harrison 
Street,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Keren  Hayesod  Bureau  for  United  States 
sends  greetings  your  conference.  We  hope  your 
deliberations  will  result  in  immediate  practical 
work.  Have  received  cable  message  Weizmann 
recently  requesting  funds  immediately  for  Land 
Mortgage  Bank  Ruttenberg  scheme  and  erec- 
tion dwellings  for  immigrants.  We  await  your 
response. 

EMANUEL  NEUMANN, 
Secretary  Keren  Hayesod." 

[76] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Dr.  Smarya  Levin  wired  as  follows: 

"New  York,  July  25,  1921. 
Keren  Hayesod  Conference,  care  of  Rabbi 
Simon  Glazer,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 

My  best  wishes  for  complete  success  of  your 
conference.  Political  situation  with  regard  to 
Palestine  critical.  Can  be  relieved  only  by  un- 
dertaking immediate  constructive  work  in 
Palestine.  Must  raise  in  America  million  dol- 
lars cash  before  Congress  (meaning  Carlsbad 
Congress  of  the  Zionist  organization  held  dur- 
ing September,  1921).  Urge  you  make  strenu- 
ous effort  ID  secure  funds  immediately  to  meet 
present  emergency." 

SMARYA  LEVIN." 

In  this  message  Dr.  Levin  echoed  the  words 
spoken  to  me  by  Dr.  Weizmann.  I  differed 
then — and  events  have  justified  this  difference 
of  opinion — with  both  Dr.  Weizmann  and  Dr. 
Levin.  No  country  or  nation  can  be  either 
built  up  or  established  with  hysteric  efforts. 
That  the  political  situation  was  critical  I  could 
see,  but  that  it  could  be  relieved  by  raising  one 
million  or  even  ten  million  dollars  I  could  not 
see  at  all. 

About  that  time  the  entire  structure  of  my 
plan  had  been  formulated  and  a  course  of  action 
mapped  out. 

[77] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

The  conference  was  a  great  success,  beyond 
my  most  sanguine  expectations.  The  press 
gave  the  conference  very  much  prominence 
in  every  city  throughout  the  southwest.  The 
conference  was  attended  by  168  delegates 
representing  every  Zionist  district,  every  Mis- 
rachi  organization  and  every  Paole  Zion  organ- 
ization within  the  states  of  Iowa,  Nebraska, 
Missouri,  Kansas  and  Oklahoma.  The  Admin- 
istrative committee  and  the  Keren  Hayesod 
executives  were  represented  by  Mr.  Abraham 
Goldberg  of  New  York,  and  the  World  Zionist 
Organization  was  represented  by  Mr.  Max 
Shulman  of  Chicago,  member  of  the  Greater 
Actions  Committee. 

The  first  session  of  the  Southwestern  Keren 
Hayesod  Conference  opened  at  the  ballroom  of 
the  Muehlebach  Hotel,  Monday,  July  25,  at  11 
a.  m.  Mr.  W.  H.  Taylor,  general  manager  of 
public  welfare  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  who  repre- 
sented the  late  Honorable  James  Cowgill,  Mayor 
of  Kansas  City,  welcomed  the  delegates  in  a 
most  eloquent  address.  He  said  in  part: 

"I  am  glad  to  be  here  this  morning.  I  regret 
very  much  that  the  Mayor  is  not  able  to  be 
present  in  person  before  this  representative 
body  of  Jewish  people.  I  think  it  a  pleasure  to 
welcome  you  to  our  city. 

"Today  as  I  stand  here  it  seems  to  me  that 

[78] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

I  am  occupying  a  historic  position.  I  feel  that 
we  are  at  the  end  of  a  great  journey,  and  that 
the  great  hope  that  we  had  in  the  beginning, 
is  now  being  fulfilled  as  a  great  prophecy.  It 
is  wonderful,  wonderful.  We  cast  our  eyes  up- 
ward and  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  wonders  of 
the  great  God.  He  speaks  today  as  he  spoke  in 
olden  days  to  me  and  to  you.  We  look  to  you, 
my  brethren,  today;  we  look  to  you  for  much, 
and  we  have  a  right  to  expect  much.  We  wel- 
come you  indeed,  not  with  hurrahs  and  huzzahs 
but  kindly,  prayerfully,  hopefully,  cheerfully 
with  open  arms.  We  greet  you  to  our  city.  You 
have  brought  high  ideals,  you  will  leave  them 
here ;  and  upon  these  walls  though  it  may  seem 
that  no  impression  will  be  made,  but  from  out 
of  these  hearts  will  go  forth  that  touch  of  hu- 
man feeling.  It  does  not  seem  long  since  that 
one  was  turned  out  and  told  to  go  forth  from 
Ur  of  the  Chaldeans  and  that  the  promise  which 
was  made  to  him  is  now  about  to  be  consum- 
mated. 

"My  brethren,  we  have  this  great  joy,  that 
the  God  of  Israel  is  the  God  of  us  all.  A  sweeter 
and  more  loving  message  no  man  can  bring  to 
this  world.  You  have  kept  it  and  preserved  it. 
We  may  look  to  others  for  other  things,  but  to 
the  Jewish  people  we  look  for  our  religious  life 
and  our  ideas  of  God.  As  for  me  and  mine, 

[79] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

and  for  those  I  love  and  the  great  city  I  repre- 
sent, I  call  upon  them  to  have  first  of  all,  the 
great  thought  of  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth ; 
the  great  God  first  of  all  and  then  the  culture 
and  refinement  of  that  religion  which  you  bring 
to  our  world. 

"I  welcome  you  in  behalf  of  the  mayor  and 
city.  We  welcome  you  to  our  hearts  and  our 
homes." 

Rabbi  Glazer:  "We  are  meeting  here  this 
morning  not  as  representatives  of  a  movement 
aiming  to  alienate  the  affections  of  any  Jewish 
citizen  from  this  country.  We  all  are  Ameri- 
can citizens.  Because  we  are  American  citi- 
zens, our  foremost  duty  was  and  is  to  study 
American  history  and  to  teach  American  his- 
tory to  our  children  in  its  proper  light,  and  we 
as  the  people  of  the  book,  a  people  that  has  pre- 
served history  for  mankind  know  how  to  teach 
history.  And  because  we  know  American  his- 
tory we  have  a  right  to  point  to  our  Zionist 
work  as  a  genuine  American  doctrine.  Our  aim 
is  to  establish  a  national  homeland  in  Palestine 
for  the  Jewish  people.  Had  not  the  Fathers  of 
our  country  assembled  together  and  proclaimed 
to  the  American  people  that  'there  shall  be 
liberty  throughout  the  land  for  all  the  inhab- 
itants thereof,'  no  nation  on  the  face  of  the 

[80] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

earth  would  have  the  fruits  of  liberty  today. 

We  have  a  right  as  American  citizens  to  say 
to  our  brethren  who  have  no  liberty,  'We  have 
liberty,  we  shall  try  to  give  you  similar  liberty 
in  a  homeland  of  your  own.' 

It  is  because  that  I  am  convinced  that  Zion- 
ism is  a  genuine  American  doctrine  that  I  came 
from  the  Cleveland  convention  determined  to 
instill  this  feeling  first  in  the  hearts  of  all  the 
Jewish  people  and  then  in  the  minds  of  all 
America.  Fellow  delegates,  I  deeply  appreciate 
your  presence  here  and  I  must  warn  you  that 
we  have  great  work  before  us.  Before  this  con- 
vention will  close  all  American  Israel  will  know 
that  a  great  chapter  of  history  was  made  by  the 
Jewish  people  of  the  southwest." 

Mr.  Shulman  of  Chicago  was  unanimously 
elected  chairman  of  the  conference. 

Mr.  Shulman:  "Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Fel- 
low delegates:  I  accepted  the  invitation  to  be 
here  knowing  that  conventions  of  this  kind  are 
very  much  in  need.  It  is  practically  impossible 
for  New  York  to  reach  every  section  of  the 
country.  It  is  therefore  high  time  that  the 
various  regions,  the  mid-western  states,  the 
southwestern  states  and  other  still  further  out- 
lying districts  throughout  the  country  confer, 
organize  and  elect  representatives  to  be  respon- 

[81] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

sible  for  the  Zionist  work  within  their  respec- 
tive territories.  The  work  that  is  now  before 
us,  namely,  the  Keren  Hayesod,  I  take  it  that 
all  of  you  are  more  or  less  familiar  with.  I  hope 
you  all  have  come  to  the  conference  to  have 
an  opportunity  to  give  the  work  a  greater  im- 
petus. The  Keren  Hayesod  work  is  now  the 
only  thing  before  the  Jews  of  the  world.  Pales- 
tine will  either  be  rebuilt  or  the  opportunity 
will  slip  by.  The  Keren  Hayesod  is  not  an 
American  fund,  it  is  .not  a  European  fund,  it  is 
a  Zionist  institution  aiming  to  raise  one  hun- 
dred million  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing up  Palestine  as  a  Jewish  homeland.  We 
want  to  raise  a  large  sum  of  money  to  do  all  the 
necessary  work  in  Palestine;  to  build  harbors, 
railroads,  public  utilities,  telephones,  tele- 
graphs, industries,  houses,  power  plants;  to 
irrigate  and  afforestate  the  country  and  do 
everything  else  which  it  is  necessary  for  a  nat- 
ural national  life  for  the  Jewish  people  that  are 
now  flocking  into  Palestine.  One  of  our  great 
fortunes  is  the  fact  that  Palestine  is  not  yet  cul- 
tivated, built  up  and  prosperous.  Had  Pales- 
tine been  so  the  ones  who  had  developed  it 
would  have  had  a  just  claim  upon  it  and  kept 
it  for  themselves.  We  do  not  want  anyone  to 
do  the  work  for  us.  We  desire  to  be  the  pioneers 
and  do  the  work  that  is  necessary.  We  have 

[82] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

creative  ability,  we  have  the  men,  the  will- 
power, the  national  consciousness  and  therefore 
should  build  ourselves. 

"We  are  grateful  to  the  Allied  Powers  for 
having  given  to  Great  Britain  the  mandate  over 
Palestine,  but  we  want  you  to  bear  in  mind  one 
thing — neither  England  nor  the  United  States, 
nor  any  other  power  on  earth  can  give  Pales- 
tine to  the  Jewish  people.  There  is  only  one 
people  that  can  both  give  and  take  Palestine, 
that  people  is  ourselves." 

The  conference  lasted  for  two  days  in  which 
five  business  sessions  were  held.  The  wind- 
up  or  the  sixth  session  was  a  mass  meeting  at 
the  Shriner's  Temple,  Twelfth  and  Prospect, 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where  a  sum  of  more  than 
$25,000  for  the  Keren  Hayesod  was  subscribed. 
The  resolutions  adopted  at  the  conference  were 
as  follows: 

"It  is  the  sense  of  this  conference  that  the 
five  states,  namely,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Missouri, 
Kansas  and  Oklahoma,  be  and  are  hereby  de- 
clared a  district  unit  for  the  Keren  Hayesod  to 
be  known  as  the  Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod 
Region. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  that  a  permanent  of- 
fice be  established  in  Kansas  City  to  carry  on 
the  work  of  the  Keren  Hayesod,  if  it  be  met 
with  the  approval  of  the  national  executives  of 

[83] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  American  temporary  organization  of  the 
Keren  Hayesod. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  that  all  of  the  five 
states  shall  be  represented  on  the  executive 
committee,  such  representatives  to  supervise 
the  work  of  the  Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod 
region. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  that  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Keren  Hayesod  work  be  included 
representatives  of  all  Jewish  organizations 
within  the  region,  if  such  organizations  will  de- 
sire to  participate. 

ARTICLE  II. 

The  Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod  conference 
recognizes  the  Cleveland  convention  as  the 
highest  authority  in  American  Zionism  and 
pledges  its  full  and  loyal  support  to  the  present 
Administration. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  that  the  Southwestern 
Keren  Hayesod  Bureau  shall  be  in  charge  of  a 
Keren  Hayesod  director  who  shall  be  under 
the  supervision  of  the  executive  officers  of  this 
region. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  that  this  conference, 
fully  appreciating  the  services  rendered  to  the 
cause  of  Zionism  during  the  trying  days  of  the 

[84] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

late  war  by  the  former  officers  of  the  Zionist 
Organization  of  America,  call  upon  them  now 
at  this  critical  period  of  our  movement,  to  lend 
their  full  and  loyal  support  and  urges  upon 
them,  individually  and  collectively,  to  partici- 
pate in  the  deliberation  of  the  World  Zionist 
Congress  to  be  held  at  Carlsbad  during  the 
month  of  September  next  and  to  co-operate 
with  the  Keren  Hayesod  and  the  Zionist  Organ- 
ization of  America. 


ARTICLE  III. 

Be  it  further  resolved,  that  the  officers  of 
the  Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod  region  con- 
sist of  one  president,  two  vice-presidents,  one 
regional  treasurer,  one  general  treasurer,  one 
recording  secretary,  one  financial  secretary, 
an  advisory  council  of  five  members  and  an 
executive  committee  of  ten  members,  two  mem- 
bers from  each  of  the  five  states. 


ARTICLE  IV. 

That  this  conference  extends  its  thanks  to 
the  Kansas  City  Jewry,  to  the  Kansas  City  press 
and  to  the  Jewish  press  of  the  country." 

[86] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

The  following  officers  were  elected: 
President— S.  R.  Travis,  Tulsa,  Okla. 

First     Vice-President — Charles     Silberman, 
Des  Moines,  la. 

Second    Vice-President — Professor    Gustave 
Klausner,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

General    Treasurer — H.    Appleman,    Tulsa, 
Okla. 

Regional  Treasurer — A.   A.  Smith,   Kansas 
City,  Mo. 

General  Secretary — Dr.  M.  A.  Elstein,  Kan- 
sas City,  Mo. 

Recording    Secretary — Louis    Plost,    Tulsa, 
Okla. 

President  Advisory  Council — Alfred  Benja- 
min, Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Vice-President     Advisory     Council  —  Rabbi 
Simon  Glazer. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  ADVISORY  BOARD. 
Rabbi  M.  Braudy,  St.  Joseph,  Mo. 
Rabbi  J.  L.  Goldenson,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Rabbi  H.  Kopstein,  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

[86] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

STATE  EXECUTIVE  DIRECTORS. 

IOWA. 

A.  E.  Galinsky,  Sioux  City. 
Philip  Lipson,  Cedar  Rapids. 

NEBRASKA. 
I.  Goldstein,  Omaha. 
I.  Shostak,  Lincoln. 

KANSAS. 

Mrs.  H.  Rosenbloom,  Wichita. 
I.  S.  Galitsky,  Topeka. 

OKLAHOMA. 
D.  R.  Travis,  Tulsa. 
A.  S.  Kaplan,  Bartlesville. 

MISSOURI. 

Meyer  Hurwitz,  St.  Louis. 
Max  Studna,  Kansas  City. 

At  the  fourth  session  of  the  Southwestern 
Keren  Hayesod  conference  Mr.  Abraham  Gold- 
berg delivered  a  most  inspiring  address,  tracing 
the  history  of  the  late  differences  in  the  Zion- 
ist ranks  and  outlining  the  practical  work  to  be 
done  in  order  to  again  consolidate  the  Zionist 
forces. 

Puring  the  fifth  session  of  the  conference 
[87] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  political  situation  of  Zionism  was  mentioned 
by  Shulman,  Goldberg  and  others.  I  deliber- 
ately refrained  from  mentioning  anything  more 
than  the  fact  contained  in  the  telegram  of  Dr. 
Schmarya  Levin. 

Reading  the  reports  of  the  Southwestern 
conference  in  the  different  newspapers  I  real- 
ized that  the  ground  work  of  the  structure  was 
complete.  Every  Jewish  community  within  the 
five  states  knew  about  the  Keren  Hayesod,  its 
aims  and  objects,  and  also  became  interested 
in  Zionism  generally. 

Having  created  a  permanent  organization 
with  authority  centered  in  the  different  com- 
munities throughout  the  five  states,  I  realized 
that  as  the  convenor  of  the  conference  I  could 
easily  get  the  desired  co-operation,  should  I  be 
in  need  of  assistance,  by  calling  upon  the  per- 
sons I  had  in  mind.  Thus  was  the  initial  step 
made  most  successfully. 


[88] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  NEW  ZIONIST  ADMINISTRATION 

I  found  the  situation,  both  at  the  Zionist  and 
at  the  Keren  Hayesod  headquarters,  alarming. 
With  all  of  the  great  American  leaders  out  of 
the  movement,  Weizmann  and  Ussischkin  in 
Europe,  and  new  and  untried  men  as  heads  of 
great  departments,  the  task  of  holding  the 
organization  together  was  herculean.  The  chief 
concern  in  the  mind  of  every  responsible  per- 
son in  either  of  the  headquarters  was  the  po- 
litical situation. 

The  Carlsbad  Congress  of  the  World  Zionist 
Organization  was  but  a  fortnight  hence.  The 
leaders  of  the  new  Zionist  Administration  had 
to  prepare  themselves  for  their  journey  to  the 
Congress. 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival  in  New  York,  the 
new  Administrative  Committee  held  a  confer- 
ence at  the  Commodore  Hotel.  At  that  confer- 
ence the  American  resolutions  to  be  presented 
at  the  Carlsbad  Congress  were  drafted.  I  was 
invited  to  attend  the  conference.  Joseph  Bar- 
ondess  presided,  with  Louis  Lipsky  acting  as 
secretary.  There  were  thirty-four  people 
present. 

[89] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

The  Jewish  notables  in  America  were  most 
conspicuous  by  their  absence  from  the  confer- 
ence, where  policies  of  far-reaching  conse- 
quences to  millions  of  Jews  were  being  shaped. 

The  European  Zionists  have  the  ability,  the 
will-power,  the  zeal,  the  fervent  patriotism 
and  the  unbounded  devotion  to  carry  out  the 
principles  enunciated  by  Dr.  Herzl  and  his  able 
successors.  But  they  all  are  unable  even  to 
commence  actual  work  of  construction  in  Pal- 
estine without  the  assistance  of  American 
Israel.  Be  it  said,  however,  to  the  credit  of 
the  European  Zionist  leaders,  that  they  had 
never  looked  upon  their  American  brethren  as 
materialists  only.  On  the  contrary,  they  al- 
ways listened  to  American  advice.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  at  the  London  Zionist  Conference  of 
1920,  they  tendered  the  leadership  of  the  World 
Zionist  Organization  to  eminent  American 
Jewish  statesmen,  who  unfortunately  were  not 
in  a  position  to  accept  it.  I  realized  what  great 
opportunity  the  leading  American  Jews  of 
this  generation  had  lost  in  not  being  present 
at  that  conference. 

The  hour  and  the  need  create  the  men.  In  a 
session  lasting  the  better  part  of  an  afternoon 
and  evening,  matters  of  grave  importance  came 
before  that  conference.  When  adjournment 
was  decided  upon,  many  phases  of  real  impor- 

[90] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

tant  issues  were  left  open,  wanting  the  advice 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  World  Zion- 
ist Organization.  Here  again  it  became  mani- 
fest to  me,  and  I  was  more  than  ever  con- 
vinced, that  the  cloud  of  pessimism  which  I 
saw  hovering  above  the  Zionist  horizon  came 
up  from  the  different  chancellories  of  the 
world. 

Witnessing  this  conference,  I  was  cheered 
up  considerably,  not  on  account  of  the  dis- 
cussion, which  was  entirely  cheerless,  but  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  nothing  was  done  in 
haste,  nothing  was  left  to  chance,  and  every- 
thing was  done  with  the  greatest  care  becom- 
ing an  able  parliamentary  body  anywhere 
within  the  civilized  world. 

Herman  Conheim  facilitated  an  executive 
meeting  of  the  temporary  organization  of  the 
Keren  Hayesod,  which  was  also  attended  by 
several  members  of  the  Zionist  Administrative 
Committee,  among  whom  were  Louis  Lipsky 
and  Abraham  Goldberg.  I  delivered  to  them 
the  set  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  South- 
western Keren  Hayesod  conference  and  re- 
quested them  to  establish  headquarters  for  the 
Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod  Region.  They 
consented  to  do  so  only  on  one  condition:  that 
for  the  time  being  and  up  until  after  the  Carls- 
bad Congress,  when  the  Keren  Hayesod  organ- 

[91] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

isation  would  be  chartered  and  established  on 
a  permanent  basis,  the  Southwestern  Keren 
Hayesod  Bureau  should  be  together  with  the 
offices  of  the  United  Synagogues  of  Greater 
Kansas  City.  This  latter  condition  was  stip- 
ulated at  the  request  of  Conheim  and  Goldberg. 

On  the  same  day  the  following  telegram  was 
addressed  to  Dr.  M.  A.  Elstein,  Secretary  of 
the  Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod  Region: 

"New  York,  N.  Y.,  August  10,  1921. 
"Dr.  M.  A.  Elstein, 
c/o  United  Synagogues, 
606  Kemper  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

"At  Rabbi  Glazer's  request  decided  to  open 
Kansas  City  office.  Trust  you  will  proceed 
immediately  with  your  plans. 

(Signed)     Joseph  Jason." 

On  August  11,  1921,  I  invited  Herman  Con- 
heim and  Abraham  Goldberg  to  have  a  private 
conference  with  me  at  the  Commodore  Hotel. 
I  did  so  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Smarya  Levin. 

During  the  morning  of  the  previous  day,  I 
had  seen  Dr.  Smarya  Levin,  who  at  that  time 
was  recuperating  from  a  serious  illness,  and 
was  still  confined  to  his  room.  I  found  him 
very  gloomy,  and  when  I  mentioned  to  him  the 
fact  that  during  the  fall  of  1905  when  we  first 

[92] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

met,  his  features  did  not  express  as  much 
strength  and  courage  as  now,  he  clenched  both 
his  fists  and  said: 

"We  have  the  courage;  we  have  the  knowl- 
edge; we  may  get  the  money;  but  we  have  not 
the  friends  who  will  remove  from  our  path  the 
'flaming  sword  which  turned  every  way*  and 
facilitate  for  us  an  entrance  into  our  ancient 
Eden." 

He  mentioned  to  me  a  certain  feature  in  con- 
nection with  the  Palestine  mandate  insofar  as 
one  particular  European  chancellory  was  con- 
cerned, which  he  likened  to  the  "flaming  sword 
which  turned  every  way." 

Dr.  Levin  must  have  anticipated  some  val- 
uable information  when  he  brought  up  the  sub- 
ject of  friends,  for  he  continued  to  ask  me  what 
the  Jewish  standing  in  the  West  and  Southwest 
was,  and  how  powerful  their  friends  in  public 
life  are,  and  what  if  anything  the  western  Jews 
could  do  politically  for  the  cause.  He  candidly 
admitted  that  with  the  removal  of  the  Mack- 
Brandeis  group  from  the  Zionist  Administra- 
tion the  political  situation  in  America  became 
really  critical.  I  did  not  dare  confide  even  to 
Dr.  Levin  my  bold  plan  of  a  resolution  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  but  I  disclosed  to  him 
the  fact  that  one  of  the  oldest  and  greatest 
statesmen  in  America,  the  Hon.  Albert  B.  Cum- 

[93] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

mins,  President  pro  tern,  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  at  one  time  assured  me  *that  he  was 
a  staunch  Jewish  friend  and  will  work  for  any 
law  which  may  remove  every  disability  against 
the  Jews  anywhere  in  the  world.  In  addition 
to  this  outstanding  fact,  I  intimated  to  him 
that  it  would  be  quite  possible  to  interest  a 
number  of  western  statesmen,  who,  finding  our 
cause  just  and  not  contrary  to  the  interests  of 
America  or  Americanism,  would  be  glad  to 
come  to  our  assistance. 

Dr.  Levin  stood  up  erect,  extended  both  of 
his  hands  to  me  and  said :  "It  is  evident  that 
Zionism  is  a  sacred  cause.  The  Balfour  Declar- 
ation was  first  drafted  in  the  home  of  that 
great  divine,  Rabbi  Moses  Gaster  of  London. 
Rabbi  Hirsch  Kalischer,  Rabbi  Samuel  Mohil- 
ewer  and  Rabbi  Jacob  Reinies,  the  two  former 
even  before  the  days  of  Herzl,  and  the  latter 
when  Dr.  Herzl  came  to  us,  have  been  of  the 
greatest  help  to  further  Zionism  in  the  hearts 
of  our  people.  If  you  will  be  able  to  get  for 
us  some  of  the  friends  you  suggest,  you  will  be 
the  one  to  complete  the  Mizvah.  "However,"  he 
continued,  "the  new  Zionist  Administration 
have  appointed  a  political  committee,  of  which 
Herman  Conheim  and  Abraham  Goldberg  are 
the  principle  members.  Confer  with  both  these 


*See  facsimile  of  the  letter  by  Senator  Cummins   to  me  in  the 
year  1908  on  page  17. 


[94] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

gentlemen  so  that  your  mission  may  have  the 
seal  of  authorization." 

I  was  almost  tempted  to  tell  Dr.  Levin  that 
my  intentions  were  to  go  a  great  deal  farther 
than  he  ever  imagined.  I  also  greatly  desired 
to  cite  the  example  of  Rabbi  Manasseh  Ibn 
Ysrael  of  Amsterdam,  who  unknown  to  anyone 
went  to  London,  appeared  before  Cromwell  and 
gained  the  readmission  of  the  Jewish  people  in 
England.  But  I  feared  complications  and, 
therefore,  confined  my  last  remarks  to  him  to 
the  effect  that  I  would  consult  Conheim  and 
Goldberg. 

The  conference  between  myself  and  Conheim 
and  Goldberg  took  place  during  the  early  after- 
noon of  August  llth.  An  unexpected  partic- 
ipant to  part  of  the  conference  was  M.  M. 
Travis  of  Tulsa,  Okla.,  and  New  York  City. 
Before  the  close  of  the  conference  I  was  com- 
missioned by  Conheim  and  Goldberg  to  visit 
several  eminent  statesmen  and  lay  matters  be- 
fore them  and,  if  possible,  interest  them  in  our 
great  cause  with  a  view  of  having  them  take 
up  the  matter  of  the  political  situation  affecting 
Zionism,  with  the  State  Department  at  Wash- 
ington. 

Intending  to  see  Senator  Albert  B.  Cummins 
in  a  day  or  so  thereafter,  I  had  promised  to 

[95] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

wireless  Conheim  and  Goldberg,  who  were  to 
leave  the  following  day  for  Carlsbad  to  attend 
the  World  Zionist  Congress. 

Circumstances  prevented  me  from  going  on 
to  Washington  just  then,  and  instead  brought 
me  to  Montreal,  Quebec,  where  I  was  fortunate 
to  be  able  to  map  out  my  complete  course  of 
action. 


[96] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  IV 
GOVERNOR  ALLEN 

Realizing  that  the  task  before  me  would  re- 
quire accurate  information  concerning  the  Bal- 
fuor  Declaration  and  the  circumstances  imme- 
diately preceding  it,  I  had  to  inform  myself  on 
few  points  which  had  not  remained  very  clear 
in  my  mind.  I  got  the  desired  data  from  an 
Ottawa,  Ontario,  friend  on  Sunday,  August 
14th,  which  happened  to  be  Tishaah  be-Ab  (an- 
niversary of  the  destruction  of  the  first  and 
second  temples). 

After  the  Balfour  Declaration  was  issued,  a 
vehement  protest  against  the  Declaration  was 
entered  by  the  West-European  and  American 
Reform  Jews,  on  the  ground  that,  to  their  be- 
lief, the  Declaration  establishes  dual  citizenship 
for  the  Jews  in  Diaspora. 

The  data  which  I  obtained  on  that  visit  in 
Montreal  proved  of  invaluable  service  to  the 
cause  almost  immediately  after  I  returned  to 
Kansas  City. 

The  United  Synagogues  of  Greater  Kansas 
City  include  also  the  two  synagogues  of  Kansas 
City,  Kans.  In  addition,  I  had  intimate  knowl- 

[97] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

edge  of  the  conditions  of  the  Topeka  Jewish 
community,  having  assisted  them  to  erect  a  syn- 
agogue and  a  community  center.  These  facts 
carried  my  mind  toward  the  State  of  Kansas, 
where  the  possibility  of  doing  some  pioneer 
work  in  connection  with  my  plan  suggested 
itself. 

Desiring  to  give  no  publicity  to  my  real  inten- 
tions in  a  contemplated  visit  to  Topeka,  I  called 
up  over  the  long-distance  telephone,  Harry  C. 
Shapiro,  Secretary  of  the  Topeka  synagogue 
and  President  of  the  Zionist  district  there,  and 
requested  him  to  call  a  Keren  Hayesod  meeting 
and  inform  the  community  that  I  would  be 
there  to  speak.  The  response  to  my  appeal  for 
the  Keren  Hayesod  was  very  generous.  The 
meeting  was  adjourned  late  at  night.  This 
gave  me  a  valid  reason  to  remain  there  part 
of  the  next  day. 

Ike  Gilberg,  a  Topeka  Jewish  tailor,  who 
spent  a  busy  life  doing  things,  with  the  happy 
ability  of  being  able  to  do  a  number  of  things 
at  one  time,  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  a  friend 
of  Governor  Henry  J.  Allen.  By  arrangements, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry  C.  Shapiro,  whose  guest  I 
was,  invited  Mr.  Gilberg  for  luncheon.  I  told 
my  host  and  hostess  as  well  as  Mr.  Gilberg  that, 
being  in  Topeka,  I  had  a  sincere  desire  to  meet 
personally  the  celebrated  Governor  of  Kansas. 

[98] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Ike,  without  hesitation,  went  to  the  telephone, 
called  up  a  number,  imparted  the  information 
that  "Ike  Gilberg  was  talking,  and  that  he  de- 
sired to  see  the  Governor  at  once."  I  heard  him 
furthermore  state,  "Yes,  will  be  over  in  few 
minutes."  He  came  back  completely  relieved 
of  his  appetite,  reminded  himself  of  something 
else,  went  back  to  the  telephone,  called  up 
another  number  and  commanded  some  young 
man  to  "come  at  once  with  your  car  to  show 
the  Rabbi  of  Kansas  City  the  beauty  spots  of 
Topeka." 

On  the  way  to  the  Capitol,  I  studied  the  fea- 
tures of  Ike  Gilberg.  They  revealed  to  me  many 
things.  Above  all,  I  surmised  that  within  his 
heart  of  hearts,  notwithstanding  his  own  prob- 
able denial  of  the  fact,  he  would,  if  occasion 
demanded  it,  yield  his  life  for  the  love  of  his 
people.  I  immediately  trusted  him,  and  I  am 
happy  to  chronicle  the  fact  that  by  placing  my 
trust  in  him  I  made  no  mistake.  His  chief 
amusement  and  work  in  life  is  talking ;  but  for 
months  he  did  not  reveal  a  syllable  of  what  he 
had  heard  at  the  executive  offices  of  Governor 
Allen. 

Governor  Allen  is  a  great  man ;  speaks  like  a 
great  man;  and  above  all,  listens  like  a  great 
man.  Before  I  had  completed  my  opening  re- 
marks, the  Governor  interrupted  me  with  a 

[99] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

question,  "Do  you  know  that  there  is  a  Syrian 
commission,  headed  by  a  French-Canadian 
Catholic  priest,  touring  every  state  capital  in 
the  country,  requesting  sympathy  for  the  Arabs 
and  protesting  against  the  Balfour  Declara- 
tion?" I  confessed  I  did  not.  I  had  been  in- 
formed that  there  is  an  Arabian  delegation  in 
America  with  headquarters  at  New  York;  but 
that  a  commission  headed  by  a  French-Cana- 
dian Catholic  priest  was  touring  the  country, 
was  indeed  shocking  news  to  me.  The  Gover- 
nor made  me  feel  much  relieved  when  between 
two  very  happy  smiles  he  said,  "I  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  that ;  they  saw  my  Secretary." 

Just  then  I  turned  toward  Ike  Gilberg.  I  felt 
happy  that  I  had  taken  him  along  to  be  present 
at  the  interview.  Not  a  syllable  of  any  word 
spoken  had  escaped  him.  His  countenance  had 
that  happy  appearance  which  one  could  find  on 
the  face  of  a  real  pious  Jew  on  Friday  night. 

By  degrees  I  revealed  my  entire  plan,  which 
really  was  the  first  time  I  had  uttered  it  in 
words.  Up  until  that  moment  the  whole  struc- 
ture appeared  in  my  mind  as  a  mere  skeleton 
sketch ;  but  realizing  that  my  words  are  moving 
the  heart  of  one  of  the  leading  statesmen  in 
America,  I  at  once  believed  that  the  plan,  be- 
cause of  its  boldness,  will  be  a  success. 

The  Governor  in  his  replies  and  statements 

[100] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

during  the  lengthy  interview  manifested  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  Jewish  question  in  gen- 
eral and  of  Zionism  in  particular.  There  were 
certain  points  which  had  not  appeared  clear  to 
him.  I  promised  that  I  would  on  my  return  to 
Kansas  City,  as  soon  as  I  could  gather  all  the 
data,  mail  to  him  a  memorandum  outlining  the 
chief  points  which  he  desired  to  clear  up  before 
taking  the  matter  up  with  Senators  Curtis  and 
Capper  and  ask  them  to  present  the  resolution 
I  had  outlined,  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

The  memorandum  to  Governor  Allen  follows : 

"Kansas  City,  Mo. 
September  2,  1921. 
Governor  Henry  J.  Allen, 
State  of  Kansas, 
Topeka,  Kans. 
My  dear  Governor: 

It  was  indeed  a  delight  to  meet  you  person- 
ally, and  I  beg  leave  to  thank  you  for  the  oppor- 
tunity given  to  me  at  such  a  short  notice. 

In  accordance  with  my  promise,  I  beg  leave 
to  submit  to  you  a  memorandum  of  our  conver- 
sation Wednesday. 

The  political  basis  for  a  national  Jewish 
homeland  in  Palestine  is,  of  course,  the  promise 

[101] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

of  the  British  Government  published  November 
2,  1917,  which  reads  as  follows : 

'His  Majesty's  government  view  with  favor 
the  establishment  in  Palestine  of  a  national 
home  for  the  Jewish  people,  and  will  use  their 
best  endeavors  to  facilitate  the  achievement  of 
this  object,  it  being  clearly  understood  that 
nothing  shall  be  done  which  may  prejudice  the 
civil  and  religious  rights  of  existing  non-Jewish 
communities  in  Palestine  or  the  rights  and  poli- 
tical status  enjoyed  by  Jews  in  any  other  coun- 
try.' 

This  resolution,  known  as  the  Balf  our  Declar- 
ation, was  subsequently  accepted  by  the  allied 
conference  in  San  Remo  on  April  24,  1920; 
and  at  the  same  time  Palestine  was  placed  under 
the  protection  of  the  League  of  Nations  and 
Great  Britain  given  the  mandate  to  administer 
it,  with  a  special  view  of  promoting  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Jewish  national  home  there. 

Sir  Herbert  Samuel,  a  leading  statesman, 
whose  sympathies  towards  Zionism  are  well 
known,  has  been  appointed  High  Commissioner 
to  Palestine,  and  in  this  way  the  historic  home- 
land of  the  Jewish  race  has  been  reopened  to 
the  Jews. 

Palestine  within  its  present  boundaries,  is  a 
country  of  about  10,000  square  miles,  inhabited 
by  some  750,000  people,  of  whom  ten  per  cent 

[102] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

are  Jews.  This  means  that  on  the  average  ev- 
ery square  mile  of  Palestinian  territory  con- 
tains only  seventy-five  inhabitants.  Sicily  has 
252  inhabitants  per  square  mile;  Belgium,  568. 
This  shows  that  Palestine  could  accommodate 
an  incomparably  larger  population  than  it  does 
at  present.  There  is  room  for  several  millions 
of  Jewish  immigrants,  without  any  need  of 
'squeezing  in  or  out'  the  present  population.  It 
is  only  a  question  of  developing  the  country's 
natural  resources;  in  other  words,  a  question 
of  Jewish  energy  and  skill  to  make  Palestine 
a  busy  country  and  a  desirable  place  to  live  in. 
That  the  Jews  are  capable  of  doing  it  their 
worst  enemies  cannot  and  dare  not  deny. 

In  the  year  1914,  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  there  were  forty-three  Jewish  colonies  in 
Palestine  containing  408,742  dunams  of  land 
(80,000  acres),  and  about  12,000  inhabitants. 
The  capital  invested  in  these  colonies  in  Pales- 
tine amounted  to  twelve  million  dollars.  With 
improved  machinery  and  health  conditions  the 
progress  of  the  colonies  would  be  an  hundred- 
fold. 

Great  Britain  has  recognized  the  World  Zion- 
ist Organization  as  the  agency  to  carry  out  the 
scheme  of  making  Palestine  a  national  home- 
land for  the  Jewish  people.  That  recognition 
was  reiterated  at  the  San  Remo  decision. 

[103] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

France  holds  under  military  rule  Syria  and 
Lebanon,  penetrating  quite  deeply  into  the  ter- 
ritory hitherto  classed  by  all  historians  and 
Biblical  authorities  as  ancient  Judaea,  and  even 
claiming  rights  to  the  upper  parts  of  every  use- 
ful stream.  Moreover,  France  is  interested  in 
promoting  the  welfare  of  the  Syrian  Catholics. 
To  that  extent,  ilia  I7,  cndi  Government  are  re- 
ceiving the  support  of  the  Vatican. 

You,  my  dear  Governor,  and  I  know  that  the 
world  today  looks  to  the  United  States  for  lead- 
ership. The  United  States  can,  at  the  mere 
motion  of  its  index  finger,  change  any  situa- 
tion or  any  political  doctrine  anywhere  in  the 
world.  Presently  our  Government  cannot  and 
will  not  interfere  in  any  of  the  conflicts  going 
on  among  the  newly-created  little  and  big 
states,  insofar  as  Europe  is  concerned.  But 
America,  a  country  standing  at  the  very  pin- 
nacle of  civilization,  cannot  ignore  the  events 
which  transpire  in  the  holy  of  holies  of  the 
world's  history,  in  the  cradle  of  the  world's  civ- 
ilization— in  the  Holy  Land. 

The  civilization  of  the  world  demands  a  solu- 
tion to  the  Jewish  problem.  Eleven  millions 
of  European  Jews  are  today  like  a  man  without 
a  country.  Under  the  existing  political  situa- 
tion, America  sanctioned  none  of  the  mandates 
created  by  the  League  of  Nations.  It  has  ex- 

[104] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

plicitly  stated  so  in  our  treaty  with  Germany, 
as  you  well  know.  The  only  practical  step  to 
bring  about  a  solution  to  this  complicated  Near- 
Eastern  problem,  insofar  as  Palestine  is  con- 
cerned, would  be  to  lift  the  American  voice  in 
behalf  of  the  'countryless  people  for  the  people- 
less  country.'  It  is  possible  to  do  so  without 
active  participation  in  the  affairs  of  the  League 
of  Nations. 

A  resolution  of  sympathy  by  the  United 
States  Senate  will  accomplish  all.  To  that  end 
we  need  the  sympathy  and  friendship  of  our 
great  senators. 

You,  my  dear  Governor,  know  thoroughly 
well  the  two  eminent  senators  of  your  State. 
Would  it  not  be  possible  for  you  to  recommend 
to  the  senators  of  your  State  favorable  action 
upon  such  a  resolution,  if  it  be  brought  in  the 
United  States  Senate  ?  I  do  sincerely  believe  that 
you,  as  the  champion  of  justice  and  equity 
among  men,  should  take  a  very  active  interest 
in  bringing  about  the  passing  of  such  a  resolu- 
tion. You  can  easily  do  so  by  asking  one  of  -the 
senators  of  your  State  to  frame  such  a  resolu- 
tion. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  if  Senator  Curtis  will 
bring  in  a  resolution  sympathizing  with  the  as- 
pirations of  the  Jewish  people  to  establish  a 
national  homeland  in  Palestine,  that  it  would 

[105] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

receive  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  United  States 
Senate.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  nor  desirable 
that  the  United  States  Senate  mentions  the 
mandate  given  to  Great  Britain  by  the  League 
of  Nations  over  Palestine,  as  this  would  prob- 
ably be  an  objectionable  feature.  But  a  general 
resolution  of  sympathy  with  such  a  movement 
would  remove  every  obstacle  from  the  path  of 
the  Jewish  people,  and  within  a  short  period 
the  tide  of  Jewish  immigration  could  be  di- 
verted to  Palestine. 

Humanity  demands  such  action.  Millions  of 
people  belonging  to  an  ancient  race,  which  has 
contributed  so  many  glorious  chapters  to  the 
story  of  mankind,  are  now  wandering  in  search 
of  a  home,  begging  admission  in  every  port  city 
of  the  world,  with  very  few  ready  to  receive 
them.  May  I  not  suggest  that  action  along  this 
line  by  you  would  aid  materially  in  solving  this 
great  problem? 

Sincerely  yours, 
(Signed)     SIMON  GLAZER, 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 
SG:DC 

On  the  14th  of  September  I  received  a  reply 
from  the  Governor,  together  with  a  letter  to 

[106] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

him  from  Senator  Curtis,  facsimiles  of  which 
appear  in  this  book.  *0n  September  19,  1921, 
the  Governor  wrote  to  Senator  Curtis  as  fol- 
lows: 

"EXECUTIVE  OFFICE 
STATE  OF  KANSAS 
Topeka,  Kans.,  Sept.  19,  1921. 

Honorable  Charles  Curtis, 
United  States  Senate, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Senator  Curtis: 

Thank  you  for  your  good  letter  of  the  13th 
inst.  in  reference  to  my  communication  touch- 
ing the  resolution  of  sympathy  for  the  Jewish 
people.  I  am  sending  your  letter  to  Rabbi 
Simon  Glazer,  who  will,  I  know,  thoroughly  ap- 
preciate it  and  who  doubtless  will  communicate 
with  you  along  the  lines  suggested  in  your 
letter. 

Thanking  you  very  much  for  your  kind  at- 
tention to  this,  I  remain, 

Yours  sincerely, 
(Signed)     HENRY  J.  ALLEN." 

The  Governor's  activities  produced  results; 
in  fact,  the  greatest  results.  He  initiated  the 

*See  page  19. 

[107] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

whole  movement  by  requesting  Senator  Curtis 
to  draft  the  Palestine  resolution. 

In  reply  to  the  Governor's  letter  of  Septem- 
ber 19th,  a  facsimile  of  which  appears  in  this 
book,**  I  wrote  as  follows: 

"612-614  Massachusetts  Bldg. 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Sept.  20, 1921. 

Governor  Henry  J.  Allen, 
State  of  Kansas, 
Topeka,  Kans. 

My  dear  Governor : 

I  beg  leave  to  thank  you  for  your  very  kind 
letter  of  the  19th  inst.  It  has  gladdened  my 
heart,  and  I  know  it  will  gladden  the  hearts  of 
my  people,  when  your  efforts  will  come  to  light 
as  a  glorious  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Jew- 
ish people. 

I  have  pointed  out  to  you  in  my  letter  con- 
cerning our  interview  that  without  proper  safe- 
guards in  phrasing  such  a  resolution,  complica- 
tions may  arise.  You  may  rest  assured  that  the 
greatest  care  will  be  taken  in  the  handling  of 
this  matter,  and  as  you  were  the  first  great 
American  to  make  it  possible  for  such  a  step  to 

**See  page   11. 

[108] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

be  taken,  nothing  will  be  done  without  your  full 
knowledge  and  approval.  It  may  be  trouble- 
some to  you  to  read  correspondence  not  directly 
concerning  the  State  of  Kansas;  but  we  judge 
you  not  as  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Kansas, 
but  as  one  of  America's  leading  citizens,  des- 
tined for  many,  many  greater  things  than  that 
of  being  the  Governor  of  a  great  State. 

I  know  that  Senator  Capper  will  co-operate 
after  you  will  have  a  personal  talk  with  him. 
I  am  writing  direct  to  Senator  Curtis,  asking 
him  to  see  Secretary  of  State  Hughes  in  con- 
nection with  this  matter.  The  phraseology  of 
such  a  resolution  can  best  be  attended  to  by  the 
Senator  himself.  It  may  possibly  be  that 
through  your  great  influence  and  through  the 
very  good  offices  of  the  Senators  of  your  State, 
no  public  resolution  will  be  required,  as  the  only 
thing  we  desire  is  the  sympathy  of  the  United 
States  towards  the  establishment  of  a  Jewish 
national  homeland  in  Palestine. 

Our  State  Department,  if  it  so  deems  desir- 
able, may,  without  in  the  least  complicating 
anything,  give  such  an  assent  to  Great  Britain ; 
that  is  to  say  that  our  Government  recognizes 
the  mandatory  power  of  Great  Britain  over 
Palestine  and  expresses  its  sympathy  with  the 
Balfour  Declaration  and  the  San  Reno  decision, 
insofar  as  the  establishment  of  a  Jewish  na- 

[109] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

tional  homeland  in  Palestine  is  concerned.  If 
there  be  anything  I  can  do  in  the  way  of  bring- 
ing home  to  you  or  to  any  of  the  Senators,  ad- 
ditional facts  in  reference  to  this  all  important 
Jewish  question,  I  am  at  your  service. 

Thanking  you  again,  and  hoping  for  the  suc- 
cess you  so  heartily  wish  us,  I  beg  leave  to  re- 
main, 

Yours  very  truly, 
(Signed)     SIMON  GLAZER 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 
SG:DC 

After  I  received  the  first  letter  from  Senator 
Curtis  in  reply  to  mine,  imparting  to  me  the  in- 
formation that  he  had  drafted  a  resolution  of 
sympathy  toward  the  establishment  of  a  na- 
tional homeland  in  Palestine,  I  wrote  to  Gov- 
ernor Allen  as  follows : 

"Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Oct.  20, 1921. 

Honorable  Henry  J.  Allen, 
Governor  of  State  of  Kansas, 
Topeka,  Kans. 

My  dear  Governor  Allen : 

Words  fail  me  to  express  the  thanks  of  the 
people  of  Israel  for  your  most  kind  act  in  intro- 

[no] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ducing  the  subject  of  Palestine  as  a  homeland 
for  the  Jewish  people  to  Senator  Curtis.  *  *  * 

The  very  fact  that  Senator  Curtis  prepared 
such  a  resolution  was  a  potent  factor  to  cause 
our  State  Department  to  speak  in  definite  terms 
concerning  the  mandate  of  Palestine.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  if  you  and  Senator  Curtis  will 
continue  to  act  in  this  self-same  spirit  as  you 
did  until  now,  our  Government  will  not  only 
find  no  objection  to  the  Palestine  mandate,  but 
will  actually  bring  it  about  in  a  more  practical 
way  than  it  was  generally  understood. 

Permit  me,  dear  Governor,  to  assure  you  that 
no  Christian  in  this  generation  has  undertaken 
a  greater  mission  than  you. 

Your  very  humble  servant, 

(Signed)     SIMON  GLAZER 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 

SG:DB 


When  matters  had  advanced  far  enough  that 
I  considered  a  trip  to  Washington  and  an  inter- 
view with  the  President  not  only  desirable,  but 
inevitable,  I  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
Governor  Allen : 

[in] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

"612-614  Massachusetts  Bldg. 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Nov.  10,  1921. 

Honorable  Henry  J.  Allen, 
Governor  of  State  of  Kansas, 
Topeka,  Kans. 

My  dear  Governor: 

I  have  this  day  wired  the  following  message 

to  Senator  Curtis: 

'Honorable  Charles  Curtis, 
United  States  Senator, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Could  you  arrange  for  me  an  interview 
with  President  Harding?  Please  reply  by 
wire  as  the  matter  is  very  urgent. 

(Signed)     RABBI  SIMON  GLAZER 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues.' 

I  do  not  know  whether  Senator  Curtis  will 
be  in  a  position  to  accommodate  me  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  as  you  have  been  of  the  greatest  help 
to  my  people  in  the  past  two  months,  I  again 
direct  my  prayers  to  you.  With  the  Disarm- 
ament Conference  going  on,  the  President's 
time  is  surely  of  the  greatest  value.  Neverthe- 
less, I  am  sure  that  with  the  aid  of  Senator  Cur- 

[112] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

tis,  I  could  get  to  see  him.  Your  Secretary  in- 
formed me  that  you  are  leaving  for  the  East 
yourself;  perhaps  I  will  be  able  to  see  you  at 
Washington  the  latter  part  of  next  week,  which 
in  itself  would  be  of  the  greatest  help  to  my 
•ission.  However,  my  request  of  you  this  time 
is  to  be  good  enough  to  write  to  Senator  Curtis 
to  receive  me  and  to  give  me  the  introduction 
necessary.  I  will  highly  appreciate  if  you  will 

•ply  to  this  letter  by  wire,  so  that  it  may  reach 
me  on  Saturday  in  order  to  enable  me  to  leave 
for  Washington  the  early  part  of  next  week. 

Thanking  you  most  heartily,  I  am, 

Your  very  humble  servant, 

(Signed)     SIMON  GLAZER 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 

SG:DC 


The  Governor  wired  to  Washington  as  re- 
quested. He  also  was  in  Washington  the  day 
after  I  saw  the  President.  A  facsimile  of  his 
letter  to  me  in  reference  to  my  interview  with 
the  President  appears  in  this  book.* 

The  Governor's  name  will  remain  indelibly 
imprinted  in  the  pages  of  Jewish  history.  He 

•See  page  9. 

[113] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

took  the  initiative  in  a  work  which  led  to  the 
final  success  of  the  Zionist  movement.  In  a 
speech  at  Topeka  last  June,  the  Governor  mod- 
estly disclaimed  any  credit  to  himself,  gracious- 
ly adding  that  he  "well  remembered  the  words 
used  by  the  Rabbi  to  be  identical  with  which 
was  finally  passed  by  the  Senate." 

The  Governor  ennobled  himself  in  the  hearts 
of  all  who  know  him  by  his  modesty. 


[114] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  V. 
GOVERNOR  HYDE  AND  GOVERNOR  MCKELVIE 

The  sympathy  of  Governor  Allen  toward  the 
movement  of  bringing  in  a  resolution  in  the 
United  States  Senate  favoring  Palestine  as  a 
homeland  for  the  Jewish  people,  created  a  sit- 
uation which  demanded  further  action.  I  had 
originally  outlined  my  course  of  action  to  in- 
terest in  this  project  the  Governors  of  the 
states  of  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Missouri,  Kansas  and 
Oklahoma,  and  the  Senators  representing  these 
states  in  the  United  States  Senate.  The  test 
was  at  Topeka. 

Jefferson  City  has  no  Jewish  community  to 
speak  of,  and  I  knew  of  no  one  who  could  prop- 
erly introduce  me  to  Governor  Hyde.  I  dis- 
closed the  entire  program  to  A.  A.  Smith,  Reg- 
ional Treasurer  of  the  Southwestern  Keren 
Hayesod  Bureau,  who  seeing  the  Topeka  re- 
port, became  interested  in  the  work.  Mr. 
Smith  suggested  to  me  that  the  vice-president 
of  his  company,  Mr.  E.  W.  Koch,  a  colonel  of 
the  Governor's  staff,  should  accompany  me  to 
Jefferson  City  and  give  me  the  necessary  in- 
troduction. 

[115] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

On  Friday,  September  23, 1921,  Colonel  Koch 
introduced  me  to  Governor  Arthur  M.  Hyde 
of  Missouri.  I  outlined  to  the  Governor  a  full 
sketch  of  how  to  remove  all  obstructions  from 
the  path  of  Zionism  and  prevent  all  possible 
complications,  should  our  State  Department 
take  action  favorable  to  Zionism  in  an  ordinary 
diplomatic  manner.  The  Governor  was  sym- 
pathetic from  the  very  first  moment  the  sub- 
ject was  broached.  He  suggested  a  communica- 
tion to  Senator  Selden  P.  Spencer.  During  the 
interview,  which  was  quite  a  lengthy  one,  I 
was  convinced  that  I  was  in  the  presence  of  an 
ever-ready  friend,  a  man  whose  fundamental 
belief  is  in  American  institutionalism,  which 
carries  along  with  it  justice,  equality  and  hu- 
manity. I  forwarded  to  Governor  Hyde  a 
written  memorandum  of  our  interview  which 
was  as  follows: 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City. 

612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 
September  26,  1921. 

Honorable  Arthur  M.  Hyde, 
Governor  of  State  of  Missouri, 
Jefferson  City,  Mo. 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

My  dear  Governor: 

I  beg  leave  to  submit  a  memorandum  of  our 
interview  Friday,  the  23rd  inst. 

Our  former  Administration  endorsed  the 
Balfour  Declaration  of  November  2, 1917,  prom- 
ising Palestine  as  a  Jewish  national  homeland. 
The  wording  of  the  declaration,  before  it  was 
made  public,  was  submitted  to  former  President 
Wilson,  who  found  no  objection  thereto,  but  on 
the  contrary  endorsed  it.  On  April  24,  1920, 
at  San  Remo,  Italy,  the  League  of  Nations  pro- 
claimed a  decision  ratifying  the  Balfour  Dec- 
laration, and  named  Great  Britain  as  the  man- 
datory power  over  Palestine.  With  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  Wilson  Administration,  the 
question  of  mandates  became  paramount  in  our 
State  Department.  Our  Government  took  the 
stand,  and,  as  we  know,  rightly  so,  that  the 
disposition  of  any  territory,  or  the  conferring 
of  a  mandatory  power  upon  any  nation  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  United  States  cannot  be 
sanctioned.  This  of  course,  in  addition  to  the 
fact  that  the  former  Turkish  Empire  was  not 
an  enemy  nation,  altered  political  conditions, 
insofar  as  the  Balfour  Declaration  is  concerned, 
materially,  as  a  result  of  which  the  age-old 
hope  of  the  Jewish  people  to  establish  a  nat- 
(ional  home  in  the  land  of  their  fathers  received 
a  backward  jolt. 

[117] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Meantime,  the  Zionist  Organization  of  the 
World,  the  recognized  agency  to  rebuild  Pales- 
tine, proceeded  to  purchase  land  and  formulate 
extensive  plans,  such  as  the  irrigation,  electri- 
fication and  afforestation  of  Palestine.  Pio- 
neers in  the  thousands  are  flocking  to  the 
shores  of  ancient  Judaea. 

The  League  of  Nations  at  Geneva  submitted 
to  the  inevitable  and  declared  that  it  is  power- 
less to  handle  the  mandatory  situation  with- 
out the  United  States,  thereby  deferring  the 
whole  matter  of  mandates  until  the  Disarma- 
ment Conference  will  open  at  Washington  on 
November  11  next.  On  the  Agenda  as  pub- 
lished through  the  press,  the  question  of  man- 
dates, although  it  only  speaks  of  mandatory 
isles  (meaning  the  Far  East),  is  scheduled  to 
be  taken  up  by  the  conference  as  the  last  item. 
In  view  of  all  this,  the  world's  Jewry  turn  their 
eyes  toward  the  United  States  for  help. 

There  are  at  present,  at  the  very  least,  three 
million  Jewish  refugees  who  cannot,  under 
existing  conditions,  claim  legal  residence  in  any 
European  country.  This  tragic  situation  came 
along  with  the  creation  of  new  states  in  south- 
eastern, eastern  and  central  Europe.  The 
eastern  front  during  the  war  embraced  the  for- 
mer Pale  of  Jewish  of  Settlement  in  Russia. 
Now  Poland,  Lithuania,  Eusthonia,  Finland, 

[118] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Latvia,  Czechoslovakia  and  Jugo-Solvakia  are, 
under  the  terms  of  the  Versailles  treaty,  forced 
to  recognize  the  Jews  who  were  residing  at 
their  respective  countries  at  the  time  of  the 
peace  conference.  But  the  latter  countries  are 
unwilling  to  admit  that  the  former  residents 
there,  who  fled  or  were  driven  by  the  enemy 
during  the  war,  are  entitled  to  such  considera- 
tion. Most  of  these  refugees  were  driven  in 
the  interior  of  the  former  Russian  empire.  For 
almost  seven  years,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
those  refugees  were  supported  by  the  gener- 
osity of  the  American  Jews.  But  we  cannot 
have  millions  of  men  and  women  pauperized 
for  all  times. 

Moreover,  under  the  present  immigration 
laws  of  the  United  States,  immigrants  are  ad- 
mitted on  a  three  percent  basis  of  the  nationals 
as  have  resided  in  this  country  in  1910.  This 
situation  prevents,  under  the  existing  restric- 
tions, more  than  sixty  per  cent  of  the  Jews  who 
otherwise  would  have  been  entitled  to  admission 
to  this  country  from  entering  it. 

The  European  nationals  are  of  course  sub- 
ject to  regulations  concerning  emigration  of 
their  respective  countries  where  American  con- 
sulates grant  visaes.  The  new  governments  as 
a  matter  of  policy  refuse  permits  of  emigra- 
tion to  such  Jews  as  are  legally  at  a  disadvan- 

[119] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

tage  by  having  no  legal  claim  as  citizens  of 
those  states.  Thus,  the  situation  is  such  thai 
any  delay  means  danger. 

The  only  remedy  to  ameliorate  the  sufferings 
of  the  millions  of  Jewish  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren and  to  for  all  times  find  a  solution  to  the 
Jewish  problem,  is  by  opening  Palestine  to 
them.  Palestine  can  be  opened  to  the  Jewish 
people  only  by  the  sympathy  of  the  American 
Government.  There  are  two  ways  open  by 
which  the  Jewish  people  may  be  saved:  (a) 
A  sympathetic  resolution  in  the  United  States 
Senate  for  the  aim  of  the  Jewish  people  to  es- 
tablish a  national  homeland  in  Palestine  along 
the  lines  of  the  Balfour  Declaration;  (b)  To 
have  our  State  Department,  through  the  usual 
diplomatic  channels,  give  sanction  to  such  es- 
tablishment of  a  national  home  for  the  Jewish 
people  in  Palestine  by  not  including  the  Pales- 
tine mandate  in  the  terms  of  the  protest  against 
mandates  generally. 

Governor  Allen  of  the  State  of  Kansas  was 
good  enough  to  recommend  such  a  resolution 
and  requested  United  States  Senator  Charles 
Curtis  to  introduce  it.  Senator  Curtis  ex- 
pressed himself  willing  to  present  such  a  resolu- 
tion, providing  our  State  Department  saw  no 
complications  in  the  phraseology  of  the  resolu- 
tion. This  can  well  be  overcome  by  framing 

[120] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  resolution  in  proper  diplomatic  wording, 
without  committing  our  Government  to  the 
principles  of  mandates  in  former  enemy  terri- 
tory, particularly  so  since  the  Turkish  Empire 
is  not  to  be  considered  former  enemy  territory, 
as  we  were  not  officially  at  war  with  Turkey. 
It  would  be  on  the  same  principle  as  the  recog- 
nition of  our  Government  of  Poland,  which  was 
part  of  the  territory  of  a  former  ally. 

In  view  of  this,  I  pray  to  you,  my  dear  Gov- 
ernor, to  communicate  these  facts  to  the  Hon- 
orable Selden  P.  Spencer,  United  States  Sena- 
tor from  our  State,  who  I  know  is  a  friend,  and 
who  will  no  doubt  assist  in  bringing  about  the 
desired  result.  Your  great  influence  will  cer- 
tainly achieve  that  end,  and  may  the  blessing  of 
a  people  in  prayer  rest  upon  you. 

Your  humble  servant, 

(Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 

SG:DC  Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues  of 

Greater  Kansas  City." 

The  Governor,  few  days  later,  replied 
to  this  letter,  quoting  also  a  paragraph  of  the 
letter  addressed  to  him  by  Senator  Selden  P. 
Spencer.* 

This  strengthened  my  belief  in  the  plan 
which  I  had  formulated  but  tentatively  at  the 


•See   Illustration   on    Page   13. 

[121] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Cleveland  Convention,  and  brought  on  the  de- 
cision to  lay  the  matter  before  an  executive  ses- 
sion of  the  officers  of  the  Southwestern  Keren 
Hayesod,  which  took  place  on  Sunday,  Septem- 
ber 25,  1921. 

The  following  directors  of  the  Southwestern 
Keren  Hayesod  were  present :  Meyer  Hurwitz, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.;  S.  L.  Shostak,  Lincoln,  Neb.; 
I.  S.  Galitzky,  Topeka,  Kans. ;  H.  Appelman,  D. 
R.  Travis,  Tulsa,  Okla. ;  I.  Goldstein,  Omaha, 
Neb. ;  Max  Studna,  A.  A.  Smith,  Alfred  Benja- 
min, Rabbi  Simon  Glazer,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  Mr. 
Alfred  Benjamin,  chairman  of  the  Advisory 
Council  of  the  Southwestern  Keren  Hayesod 
Region,  although  not  a  professing  Zionist, 
recognized  the  practicability  of  such  a  resolu- 
tion and  strongly  endorsed  the  plan.  The  ses- 
sion lasted  for  more  than  three  hours,  which 
was  mainly  taken  up  with  the  plan  of  assisting 
me  at  Lincoln,  Neb.,  and  at  Oklahoma  City, 
Okla. 

I  knew  that  the  two  senators  of  the  State  of 
Iowa,  one  being  the  Honorable  Albert  B.  Cum- 
mins, would  help  without  extraordinary  ef- 
forts. This  was  the  primary  reason  why  I  did 
not  include  Des  Moines  in  my  itinerary. 

At  that  meeting  it  was  decided  to  cover  all 
necessary  expenses  in  connection  with  this 
work  from  the  five  percent  of  all  collections 

[122] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

authorized  by  the  temporary  Administrative 
Committee  of  the  Keren  Hayesod  at  New  York. 
Be  it  remembered,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
history  straight,  that  all  expenses  in  connection 
with  my  work,  from  the  day  I  left  Kansas  City 
to  attend  the  Cleveland  Convention,  until  I 
turned  the  matter  of  the  Palestine  resolution 
over  to  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America, 
were  taken  care  of  by  myself. 

To  the  credit  of  the  directors  of  the  South- 
western Keren  Hayesod,  it  must  be  chronicled 
that  not  a  single  word  of  opposition  to  the  plan 
of  a  Palestine  resolution  was  uttered  by  any  of 
them.  On  the  contrary,  everyone  present  en 
couraged  it,  fully  realizing  the  far-reaching 
consequences  which  such  a  movement  entailed 
and  fully  conscious  of  the  important  part  the 
entire  Southwest  was  playing  in  solving  the 
Jewish  problem. 

That  week  was  the  last  week  of  the  year 
5681.  Anticipating  early  action  by  Senator 
Curtis,  I  could  not  afford  to  delay  matters.  I 
had  to  organize  all  forces  possible  in  order, 
when  necessary,  to  be  able  to  muster  in  as 
much  help  as  possible. 

I  arrived  at  Lincoln,  Nebr.,  Tuesday,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1921.  A  committee,  consisting  of  S.  L. 
Shostak,  Jacob  Shapiro  and  Max  Katelman,  in- 

[123] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

troduced  me  to  Governor  Samuel  R.  McKelvie 
of  Nebraska. 

The  Governor  received  me  in  the  historic 
executive  office  of  the  old  Nebraska  capitol. 
He  grasped  the  whole  situation  from  my  open- 
ing remarks.  For  a  young  man  he  had  managed 
to  inform  himself  quite  liberally  on  many  ques- 
tions affecting  almost  every  race  on  the  face 
of  the  earth.  He  jotted  down  only  one  or  two 
notes,  which  evidently  had  to  do  with  a  couple 
of  things  he  had  learned  during  the  interview 
for  the  first  time.  He  was  the  second  Amer- 
ican to  my  knowledge  to  give  expression  re- 
garding the  treatment  of  the  Jewish  people 
throughout  the  world,  even  in  countries  where 
they  have  all  the  civic  rights,  should  there  be 
a  Jewish  state  with  Jewish  representatives  in 
every  civilized  country.  Mr.  Post,  former  As- 
sistant Secretary  of  Labor  under  the  Wilson 
Administration,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Hebrew  Sheltering  and  Immigrant  Society,  in 
1921,  was  the  first  American  to  express  a  like 
sentiment. 

I  reminded  the  Governor  that  Senator  Hitch- 
cock had  already  on  several  occasions  before 
expressed  his  deep  sympathy  with  the  Zionist 
aspirations.  The  only  question  in  connection 
with  a  Senate  resolution  that  seemed  to  have 
troubled  the  mind  of  Governor  McKelvie  was, 

[124] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

how  America  could  recognize  Palestine,  either 
as  an  independent  state  or  as  mandatory  terri- 
tory, in  view  of  the  fact,  first,  that  America 
was  not  a  member  of  the  League  of  Nations, 
and  second,  that  the  Treaty  of  Sevres  had  not 
yet  been  issued.  This  obstacle  was  pointed  out 
to  me  in  the  letter  Secretary  Christian  wrote 
upon  the  instructions  of  President  Harding  on 
October  13,  1921.*  Governor  McKelvie's  fears 
and  misgivings  proved  of  great  benefit  in  con- 
nection with  the  work.  It  stimulated  such 
action  which  brought  about  the  removal  of 
every  possible  complication  or  obstruction. 

After  my  interview  with  the  Governor,  which 
added  strength  to  the  convincing  argument 
that  only  by  bringing  the  Zionist  cause  before 
the  American  people  in  the  form  of  a  resolu- 
tion can  the  end  be  attained,  I  decided  to 
address  a  committee  of  Lincoln  Jews  regarding 
the  Keren  Hayesod.  Mr.  S.  L.  Shostak  ar- 
ranged for  a  large  committee  to  meet  me  at  the 
Lincoln  Hotel  during  that  afternoon.  I  found 
;-  more  difficult  to  convince  some  of  the  Lin- 
coln, Nebr.,  Jews  as  to  the  aims  of  the  Zion- 
ist movement  and  the  importance  of  the  Keren 
Hayesod  than  to  convince  the  Governor  of  the 
practicability  of  bringing  in  a  Palestine  resolu- 
tion in  the  United  States  Senate.  Unfortu- 
nately, there  is  still  found  in  every  Jewry  a 


•See  facsimile  letter  on  page   7. 

[125] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

respectable  element  which  remained  indiffer- 
ent to  the  entire  subject.  The  State  of  Ne- 
braska is  partially  responsible  for  the  existing 
state  of  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  Lin- 
coln Jewry.  Nowhere  in  America  do  the  Jew- 
ish people  live  more  contented  than  in  that  won- 
derful state.  Their  own  state  of  happiness  and 
circumstances,  being  human,  contributed  no 
mean  proportion  of  their  coldness  toward  the 
national  aspirations  of  the  rest  of  the  mem- 
bers of  their  race.  I  left  Lincoln  with  genuine 
regret  that  I  could  not  take  along  at  least  part 
of  the  atmosphere  of  the  State  of  Nebraska 
and  plant  it  in  some  quarters  where  more  toler- 
ance and  genuine  Americanism  are  needed. 

While  at  Lincoln  I  received  a  telegram  from 
H.  Appelman  of  Tulsa,  Okla.,  urging  me  to 
proceed  at  once  to  Oklahoma  City,  where  an 
appointment  had  been  made  for  me  to  meet 
Governor  J.  B.  A.  Robertson. 

An  incident  at  the  town  of  Kingfisher,  Okla., 
on  my  way  from  Lincoln  to  Oklahoma  City, 
strengthened  my  determination  to  carry  the 
work  through.  As  the  train  stopped  at  that 
little  station,  strange  singing — if  singing  I  may 
call  it — reached  my  ears.  I  saw  several  pas- 
sengers looking  out  toward  the  station  side  of 
the  train.  I  did  likewise.  There  I  beheld  an 
old  negro  bent  with  age,  his  kinky  hair  griz- 

[126] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

zled,  his  hands  stretched  out,  singing  and  danc- 
ing and  at  intervals  picking  up  pennies,  nickels 
or  dimes  that  the  passengers  threw  out  through 
the  window.  The  sight  puzzled  me  and  I  asked 
the  conductor  of  the  train  if  he  knew  what  the 
negro  was  doing  with  the  pennies  and  nickels 
and  dimes.  The  conductor's  reply  was  illum- 
inating: "This  old  negro  has  been  greeting 
every  train  that  passes  through  Kingfisher 
with  song  and  dance  for  many  years.  He  is  an 
uneducated  negro  preacher.  With  the  pennies 
and  nickels  and  dimes  and  with  his  own  labor 
added  thereto,  he  constructed  a  little  church. 
He  fills  the  church  with  members  of  his  race 
whenever  he  has  an  opportunity,  and  covers 
all  expenses  of  conducting  that  little  church 
with  the  coins  that  the  passengers  throw  at 
him  through  the  window.  He  has  saved  many 
bad  negroes  from  serious  trouble  and  made 
respectable  men  of  them."  Should  I  ever  again 
pass  through  Kingfisher,  I  would  be  glad  to 
shake  the  old  darky's  hand.  In  his  humble, 
ignorant  way,  he  fulfills  a  sacred  mission  upon 
earth.  In  his  humble  capacity  he  serves  his 
race,  and  in  his  self-sacrificing  work  he  serves 
God. 

That  day  being  "Oklahoma  Day"  during  the 
state  fair  week,  the  Governor  was  not  at  his 
executive  office.  Mr.  Englesman,  who  had 

[127] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

made  the  appointment  and  who  had  wired  to 
H.  Appelman  at  Tulsa,  to  advise  me  to  come  to 
Oklahoma  City,  informed  me  that  there  was  a 
miscalculation  of  the  train  schedules.  I  never- 
theless left  a  memorandum  for  the  Governor, 
a  second  copy  of  which  I  mailed  to  him;  and 
the  fact  that  the  two  senators  of  the  State  of 
Oklahoma  heartily  endorsed  and  voted  for  the 
resolution,  convinced  me  that  my  trip  to  Okla- 
home  City  was  not  in  vain. 

Upon  my  return  to  Kansas  City  I  addressed 
the  following  memorandum  to  Governor  Mc- 
Kelvie  of  Nebraska: 

"612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo., 

September  29,  1921. 
Honorable  Samuel  R.  McKelvie, 
Governor  of  State  of  Nebraska, 
Lincoln,  Nebr. 
My  dear  Governor: 

The  substance  of  what  I  said  during  our  in- 
terview was  as  follows: 

'The  present  situation  of  the  European 
Jewry,  with  particular  reference  to  the  war 
refugees  who,  as  a  result  of  the  newly  created 
boundaries  within  the  former  Russian  and 
Austria-Hungarian  empires,  have  become  men 
without  a  country,  is  so  tragic  that  unless  im- 

[128] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

mediate  relief  comes,  only  relief  by  death  can 
be  looked  forward  to  by  them. 

Great  Britain,  on  November  2,  1917,  through 
the  Rt.  Honorable  Arthur  Balfour,  the  Foreign 
Minister,  made  a  promise  to  the  Jewish  people 
to  give  them  Palestine  as  a  national  homeland. 
At  San  Remo,  Italy,  on  April  24,  1920,  the 
League  of  Nations  made  a  decision  which  en- 
dorsed the  Balfour  Declaration,  and  named 
Great  Britain  as  the  mandatory  power  over 
Palestine.  You,  my  dear  Governor,  know  full 
well  that  our  own  Government  has  protested 
all  mandates,  which  of  course  is  interpreted  to 
include  also  the  Palestine  mandate. 

Insofar  as  Turkey  is  concerned,  it  was  not 
officially  an  enemy  country  of  the  United 
States.  We  have  never  declared  war  against 
that  government.  Poland  was  recognized  by 
our  Government,  although  Russia  was  an  ally; 
Rumania,  too,  was  recognized,  although  Berra- 
rabia  is  former  Russian  territory;  thus  there 
can  be  no  complications,  insofar  as  our  Gov- 
ernment is  concerned,  in  endorsing  or  in  ex- 
pressing itself  in  sympathy  with  the  Balfour 
Declaration  to  make  Palestine  the  Jewish  na- 
tional homeland. 

Such  action  on  the  part  of  our  Government 
can  be  accomplished  in  either  of  two  ways:  (a) 
through  a  resolution  in  the  United  States  Sen- 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ate;  (b)  through  the  Department  of  State  in 
the  usual  diplomatic  manner.  In  order  to  enlist 
the  sympathy  of  the  Senators  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska  towards  such  a  resolution,  should  it 
be  presented,  or  in  order  to  have  their  great 
influence  to  support  such  a  request  from  our 
State  Department,  you,  my  dear  Governor,  are 
the  one  to  recommend  it  to  the  Senators  of 
your  State.* 

Senator  Charles  Curtis,  who  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  Governor  Henry  J.  Allen  of  the 
State  of  Kansas,  and  Senator  Selden  P.  Spen- 
cer, on  the  recommendation  of  Governor  Arthur 
M.  Hyde  of  Missouri,  are  active  in  this  matter, 
and  I  hope  that  with  your  mighty  influence  the 
Senators  of  the  State  of  Nebraska  will  be  of 
material  aid  in  bringing  about  the  success  of 
this  movement. 

Thanking  you  most  heartily  for  the  kind 
courtesy  in  receiving  me  and  for  the  very  warm 
expressions  toward  my  people,  I  beg  leave  to 
remain 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

(Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues  of 
Greater  Kansas  City." 

*See  page*   15-1S. 

[MO] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  VI. 
INTERNAL  COMPLICATIONS 

During  the  week  immediately  preceding  the 
executive  session  of  the  directors  of  the  South- 
western Keren  Hayesod,  I  definitely  decided  to 
disclose  to  the  Zionist  Organization  of  Amer- 
ica part  of  the  work  done  and  part  of  the  work 
in  contemplation.  The  American  delegation  to 
the  Carlsbad  Congress  at  that  time  had  not  yet 
returned.  Mr.  Bernard  G.  Richards,  Execu- 
tive Secretary  of  the  American  Jewish  Con- 
gress, had  been  named  executive  secretary  of 
the  temporary  organization  of  the  Keren  Haye- 
sod. Knowing  his  sterling  character  and  sci- 
entific knowledge  of  the  subject,  I  decided  to 
address  to  him  the  following  communication: 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues 

612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg. 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

September  21,  1921. 
Mr.  Bernard  G.  Richards, 
Secretary,  Executive  Committee,  Keren 

Hayesod, 
50  Union  Square, 

[131] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

My  dear  Mr.  Richards: 

While  at  New  York,  before  the  departure  of 
the  American  delegation  to  the  Carlsbad  Con- 
gress, Conheim,  Goldberg  and  I  talked  over 
the  Zionist  political  situation.  They  were 
then  anticipating  that  the  Palestine  mandate 
would  be  taken  up  at  the  pending  Geneva  con- 
ference of  the  League  of  Nations. 

By  appointment  I  met  Conheim  and  Gold- 
berg at  the  Commodore  Hotel,  where  the  mat- 
ter was  fully  entered  into. 

Coming  home,  I  decided  to  initiate  a  move- 
ment to  improve  the  situation  of  the  Palestine 
mandate.  I  proceeded  to  Topeka,  Kans.,  and 
found  Governor  Henry  J.  Allen  of  the  State  of 
Kansas  in  sympathy  with  our  movement. 

I  have  done  nothing  of  a  decisive  character, 
but  I  have  gained  very  powerful  friends  for  our 
Cause. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  Administrative  Com- 
mittee, particularly  of  the  Washington  commis- 
sion appointed  at  the  Carlsbad  Congress,  please 
show  them  this  communication.  Until  that 
time  I  may  have  something  more  definite. 

I  believe  that  Senator  Curtis  will  do  all  in 
his  power,  and  he  will  be  backed  up  by  Senator 
Cummins.  Moreover,  we  have  still  another 
important  friend,  and  that  is  Senator  James  A. 

[132] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Reed  of  Missouri.  He  is  a  Democrat,  but  at 
odds  with  the  regular  Democrats.  He  is  an 
anti-League-of-Nations  man  and  among  the 
irreconcilable  group ;  but  his  friendship  for  the 
Jewish  people  is  boundless. 

Trusting  that  this  will  be  of  service  to  our 
common  cause,  I  remain 

Yours  for  the  rebuilding  of  Zion, 
(Signed)   SIMON  GLAZER, 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues  of 
SG:DC  Greater  Kansas  City." 

[Enclosures] 

Mr.  Richards  replied  as  follows: 
"50  Union  Square 
New  York  City 

September  26,  1921. 
Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer : 

I  received  your  registered  letter  of  the  21st 
inst.,  together  with  enclosures,  and  I  read  the 
same  with  the  greatest  interest.  I  feel  sure 
that  your  efforts  and  the  connections  which 
you  have  made  are  bound  to  be  of  great  value 
to  us  in  the  near  future. 

In  the  absence  of  Messrs.  Lipsky,  Conheim, 
Schweitzer  and  the  other  gentlemen,  Mr.  Mor- 

[133] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ris  Rothenberg  has  been  corresponding  with 
Washington  and  looking  after  all  such  matters, 
and  I  am  therefore  referring  your  communica- 
tion with  copies  of  letters  to  him.  He  will 
accordingly  advise  you  as  to  what  should  be 
done  further ;  and  I  can  assure  you  that  he  will 
exercise  every  care  in  handling  this  matter. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am 

Yours  sincerely, 

(Signed)  B.  G.  RICHARDS." 

This  letter  reached  my  office  during  my  ab- 
sence in  Lincoln,  Nebr.,  and  Oklahoma  City, 
Okla.,  and  it  was  the  first  intimation  of  real 
complications.  At  the  conference  with  Gold- 
berg and  Conheim  in  New  York,  no  mention 
was  made  to  me  of  any  political  work  carried 
on  in  Washington;  much  less  did  I  know  that 
Morris  Rothenberg  was  in  correspondence  with 
anyone  there.  This  being  the  state  of  affairs, 
I  decided  to  await  the  promised  communication. 
It  reached  me  a  day  or  two  after  my  return  to 
Kansas  City. 

"Zionist  Organization  of  America 

55  Fifth  Avenue 

New  York 

September  28,  1921. 
Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 

[134] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

Your  letter  of  September  21st  with  en- 
closures, addressed  to  Mr.  Bernard  G.  Richards, 
was  referred  by  him  to  me. 

I  am  in  charge  of  administrative  matters  to- 
gether with  the  ad  interim  Administrative  Com- 
mittee, during  the  absence  of  members  of  the 
regular  Administrative  Committee  in  Europe. 

I  have  carefully  gone  over  the  correspon- 
dence and  I  feel  that  you  have  rendered  a  valu- 
able service  to  the  organization  in  opening  up 
channels  which  may  be  very  useful  in  the  fu- 
ture. *  *  * 

At  any  rate  we  should  await  the  return  of 
our  delegation  from  Europe,  (which  will  be 
within  the  next  ten  days)  for  a  thorough  dis- 
cussion of  the  entire  situation  in  the  light  of 
additional  information  which  they  undoubtedly 
possess.  I  shall  communicate  with  you  again 
immediately  thereafter ;  in  the  meantime,  I  de- 
sire to  express  to  you  our  appreciation  of  your 
efforts  and  the  service  you  have  rendered  in 
eliciting  the  sympathy  toward  our  movement 
of  such  important  and  influential  men. 

Sincerely  yours, 
MR:FF  (Signed)  MORRIS  ROTHENBERG." 

Upon  receipt  of  this  letter,  I  at  once  decided 
to  prevent  any  possible  complications,  fully 

[135] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

realizing  that  the  character  of  the  work  carried 
on  at  Washington  was  neither  decisive  nor 
practical,  as  it  is  now  well  known  both  to  the 
Zionist  Organization  and  to  Rothenberg  him- 
self. My  first  step  in  that  direction  was  to 
outline  the  full  plan  of  a  Palestine  resolution 
to  Mr.  Richards. 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

September  29,  1921. 
Mr.  Bernard  G.  Richards, 
Secretary  Executive  Committee, 

Keren  Hayesod, 
50  Union  Square, 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Mr.  Richards : 

Upon  receipt  of  this  letter,  please  communi- 
cate with  Mr.  Rothenberg  and  ask  him  to  write 
to  me  at  once  what  measures  were  taken  at 
Washington.  I  do  not  wish  to  close  the  way 
for  anybody  else  when  working  for  an  iden- 
tical purpose.  Having  made  a  promise  to 
Messrs.  Conheim  and  Goldberg,  I  had  to  adopt 
a  certain  method  which  fortunately  is  develop* 
ing  very  favorably.  *  *  * 

Senator  Curtis  of  Kansas  is  ready  to  draft 
and  present  a  resolution  in  the  United  States 

[136] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Senate.  Show  this  letter  to  Mr.  Rothenberg; 
but  please  ask  him  to  refrain  from  doing  any- 
thing in  reference  thereto  until  the  Carlsbad 
delegation  will  arrive.  Then  we  will  have  a 
conference  together  and  map  out  a  program  for 
unified  action.  I  will  have  to  be  in  Washington 
whenever  Zionist  matters  will  be  taken  up,  due 
to  the  fact  that  my  name  was  mentioned  to  the 
Senators. 

Yours,  with  the  blessings  of  a  happy  and 
prosperous  New  Year, 

For  a  rebuilt  Zion, 
SG:MP  (Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 

My  reply  to  the  first  letter  of  Mr.  Rothen- 
berg  was  as  follows: 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

October  2,  1921. 
Mr.  Morris  Rothenberg, 
Ad  Interim  Chairman, 

Administrative   Committee, 
Zionist  Organization  of  America, 
55  Fifth  Ave., 
New  York,  N.  Y. 
Dear  Mr.  Rothenberg: 

[137] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Yours  of  the  28th  ult.  duly  received.  At 
the  very  outstart,  I  wish  to  put  your  mind  at 
rest.  Senator  Curtis  of  Kansas  is  in  charge 
of  the  whole  matter,  and  no  step  will  be  taken 
unless  the  full  assurance  of  our  State  Depart- 
ment and  President  Harding  for  the  complete 
success  will  be  given  beforehand.  The  course 
proposed  by  me  and  approved  by  my  friends  is 
either  along  the  line  of  an  open  resolution  in 
the  Senate,  or  through  diplomatic  channels. 
This  ivas  done  on  purpose,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
prevent  any  premature  move  on  the  part  of 
anyone  who  is  real  friendly. 

In  this  connection,  I  wish  to  state  that  I 
have  written  this  additional  information  to 
Mr.  Bernard  G.  Richards,  not  knowing  at  the 
time  that  you  are  in  charge  of  administrative 
matters.  My  last  visit  to  New  York  was  for 
the  purpose  of  conferring  with  the  men  who 
are  in  charge  of  such  matters.  I  discussed 
the  whole  situation  with  Messrs.  Conheim, 
and  Goldberg.  They  have  asked  me  to  open 
new  channels  of  helpfulness.  I  may,  with- 
in the  next  few  days,  be  able  to  give  you  addi- 
tional information  of  a  still  more  positive  char- 
acter. I  need  not  tell  you  that  the  whole  mat- 
ter requires  caution  and  discretion,  as  we  have 
active  enemies  right  in  the  United  States.  You 
may  say  for  me  to  the  Carlsbad  Congress  com- 

[138] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

mission  that  I  am  ready,  upon  receipt  of  a 
telegram,  to  come  either  to  New  York  or  Wash- 
ington, if  such  a  step  will  be  deemed  advisable. 
Wishing  you  a  happy  and  prosperous  New 
Year,  I  beg  leave  to  remain 

Yours  for  a  rebuilt  Zion, 
SG:DB  (Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 

Mr.  Rothenberg's  reply  to  me  was  as  follows : 

"Law  Offices  of  Morris  Rothenberg 
5  Beekman  Street, 
New  York. 

October  8,  1921. 
Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  October  2nd 
and  have  also  seen  your  letter  of  September 
29th  to  Mr.  Richards.  I  am  certainly  gratified 
at  the  results  you  have  obtained  in  favorably 
interesting  such  influential  persons  in  our 
cause,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  serve 
the  greatest  usefulness  to  us  in  the  future.  I 
am  also  very  glad  to  note  what  you  say  that 
no  resolution  will  be  introduced  in  the  United 
States  Senate  until  full  consultation  is  had  with 

[139] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

our  returning  delegation  as  well  as  the  visiting 
delegation  to  America.  I  am  very  sure  that 
when  we  shall  meet  in  New  York  and  we  shall 
have  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  matter,  such 
a  course  will  be  thought  most  desirable. 

Wishing  you  a  very  happy  New  Year  and 
assuring  you  my  personal  appreciation  of  your 
efforts,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours, 
MR  :FF        (Signed)  MORRIS  ROTHENBERG." 

During  this  exchange  of  communications 
with  the  acting  head  of  the  Administrative 
Committee,  the  Zionist  delegation  in  Carlsbad 
were  entirely  uninformed  as  to  the  work  being 
done  here  and  the  progress  made.  The  dele- 
gates came  back  in  a  very  nervous  state  of 
mind.  The  triumph  of  Weizmann  at  the 
Carlsbad  Congress,  which  was  in  a  measure 
due  to  the  great  influence  of  the  American  dele- 
gation, naturally  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
the  state  of  mind  of  every  delegate  present  at 
the  Congress. 

Political  matters  in  Zionism  have  always 
been  attended  to,  insofar  as  Europe  was  con- 
cerned, not  only  secretly,  but  in  a  way  to  keep 
it  apart  from  every  other  work  in  connection 
with  Zionism.  The  piece  de  resistance  in  the 
sanctum  sanctorum  of  the  World  Zionist  Execu- 

[140] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

tive  Committee,  was  the  protest  against  all 
mandates  filed  by  the  American  State  Depart- 
ment. The  situation  created  by  the  so-called 
split  in  the  ranks  between  the  Mack-Brandeis 
faction  and  the  Keren  Hayesod  group  in  the 
Zionist  Organization  of  America  by  that  time 
had  taken  second  place  in  the  minds  of  the 
Zionist  leaders. 

Not  to  anticipate  events,  it  is  here  necessary 
to  state  that  the  whole  amount  of  work  on  the 
political  sphere  which  the  Zionist  Organization 
of  America  had  done  up  until  that  time  amount- 
ed to  the  information  contained  in  bulletins  is- 
sued and  the  agenda  published  by  the  American 
State  Department,  which  was  available  to  every 
citizen  that  wanted  to  read  them. 

Louis  Lipsky,  upon  his  return  from  Carls- 
bad, seeing  the  correspondence  between  Rich- 
ards, Rothenberg  and  myself,  addressed  to  me 
the  following  letter: 

"Zionist  Organization  of  America 
55  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York. 

October  9,  1921. 
Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

[141] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Mr.  Rothenberg  has  been  kind  enough  to  let 
me  see  the  correspondence  which  you  have  car- 
ried on  with  him  regarding  your  activities  in 
Washington.* 

We  have  come  back  from  Carlsbad  with  a 
feeling  that  a  great  deal  of  care  must  be  exer- 
cised in  all  political  matters. 

Unless  the  situation  is  thoroughly  understood, 
unwittingly  a  mistake  will  be  made.  We  ap- 
preciate all  you  have  done  and  are  thankful  to 
you  for  it,  *  *  *  and  would  ask  you  to  let 
us  have  copies  of  the  letters  that  you  have  re- 
ceived from  various  persons. 

With  best  wishes  for  the  New  Year,  I  am 

Very  cordially  yours, 
LL:LM  (Signed)  Louis  LIPSKY, 

General  Secretary." 

From  the  tone  of  this  letter,  particularly 
from  the  omitted  two  sentences,  I  sensed  a  very 
complicated  situation  within  the  Zionist  Ad- 
ministrative Committee.  There  was  no  chair- 
man elected  at  the  Cleveland  Convention.  A 
chairman  was  named  at  every  meeting;  thus, 
it  became  evident  to  me  that  someone  within 
the  Administrative  Committee  either  failed  to 
grasp  the  situation  and  the  work  outlined,  or 
was  kept  in  the  dark  for  good  reasons.  Louis 

•Mr  Louis  Lipsky  was  either  misinformed  or  too  nervous  to 
look  into  the  correspondence  correctly,  as  at  no  time  was  there 
•ny  mention  mad*  regarding  activities  in  Washington. 

[142] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Lipsky  evidently  did  not  know  of  the  request 
made  upon  me  by  Dr.  Smarya  Levin,  Conheim, 
and  Goldberg.  I  wired  to  Abraham  Goldberg, 
asking  him  to  go  over  the  correspondence  with 
Rothenberg  and  Richards.  Goldberg  replied 
as  follows : 

"Zionist  Organization  of  America 
55  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York. 

October  14,  1921. 
Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 
612  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer : 

Your  telegram  of  October  13th  was  duly  re- 
ceived, and  I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  care 
with  which  you  attend  to  your  mission. 

I  am  just  going  over  the  correspondence  that 
you  had  with  Mr.  Rothenberg  and  Mr.  Rich- 
ards. I  will  write  to  you  more  fully  with  re- 
gards to  this  matter  after  the  holidays. 

I  put  myself  in  communication  with  our 
friends  in  Washington,  and  I  expect  some  defi- 
nite answer  from  them  very  soon.*  In  any 
case,  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  well,  and 
I  would  be  very  grateful  to  you  if  you  will 


•Mr.  Goldberg  failed  in  his  efforts  along;  this  line,  for  when 
I  met  him  on  November  17th  at  Washington,  he  had  neither 
information  nor  plan,  save  only  that  of  inviting  some  notable 
to  a  great  Keren  Hayesod  demonstration  in  New  York. 


[143] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

drop  me  a  note  informing  me  of  how  the  work 
of  the  Keren  Hayesod  is  proceeding  in  your 
district  and  how  our  friends  are  getting  along. 
With  best  regards,  I  am 

Very  sincerely  yours, 
AG:FF          (Signed)  ABRAHAM  GOLDBERG." 

The  Jewish  press  reports  of  the  Zionist  sit- 
uation were  alarming  at  the  time.  This  added 
to  the  already  complicated  situation  both  as  re- 
gards the  state  of  mind  brought  along  by  the 
Zionist  delegation  from  the  Carlsbad  Congress 
and  as  regards  the  so-called  "care  to  be  exer- 
cised" in  making  a  further  move. 

My  reply  to  Lipsky  was  as  follows : 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

October  23,  1921. 
My  dear  Mr.  Lipsky : 

Your  letter  dated  the  9th  inst.  and  mailed 
the  19th  was  duly  received.  I  note  what  you 
say  and  fully  agree  with  you  that  the  situation 
requires  the  greatest  amount  of  discretion. 
Moreover,  when  I  saw  that  my  mission  was  al- 
ready accomplished,  I  wrote  to  both  Rothen- 
berg  and  Goldberg  that  I  am  ready  to  turn  over 

[144] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

all  correspondence  to  the  general  office  and 
eliminate  myself  entirely.  What  I  did  was  with 
the  full  knowledge  and  approval  of  the  members 
of  the  Administrative  Committee  charged  with 
such  matters. 

The  question  of  the  mandate,  insofar  as  the 
American  Government  is  concerned,  is  no 
longer  a  question  of  passive  consent,  but  of 
active  assistance.  I  may  state  that  Senator 
Curtis  has  cleared  the  entire  situation  for  all 
times.  He  is  backed  up  by  Senator  Spencer  of 
Missouri.  Governor  Hyde  of  Missouri,  Gover- 
nor McKelvie  of  Nebraska  and  Governor  Allen 
of  Kansas  are  pledged  to  help  in  every  possible 
way. 

If  you  wish  to  take  charge  of  the  whole  mat- 
ter, please  meet  me  any  time  at  Washington 
or  at  Topeka,  Kans.,  and  I  will  turn  over  to  you 
the  entire  matter  which  will  enable  you  to 
direct  all  work  yourself. 

Trusting  to  hear  from  you,  I  am 
Yours  for  a  rebuilt  Zion, 

(Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 
Rabbi,  United  Synagogues  of 
Greater  Kansas  City." 

Evidently,  Lipsky  and  his  associates  on  the 
Zionist  Administrative  Committee  were  disin- 
clined to  assume  the  responsibility  just  then. 

[145] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

There  were  many  details  to  work  out  and  still 
more  complications  to  overcome.  Recognizing 
these  facts,  Lipsky's  reply  to  me  was  not  only 
appreciative  and  courteous,  but  a  direct  invita- 
tion to  carry  on  the  work.* 

This  reply  removed  all  complications  from 
within,  as  I  had  then  the  complete  sanction  of 
the  Zionist  Organization  of  America  to  carry 
on  the  work  unhampered  and  unobstructed. 
\J  ' 


•See  facsimile  of  his  letter  dated  October  26,  1921,  on  page  31 

[146] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  VII. 
EXTERNAL  COMPLICATIONS. 

-  Almost  two  months'  time  was  spent  in  trac- 
ing complications  and  untangling  them.  At  no 
time  have  I  feared  the  consequences  of  a  fail- 
ure ;  but  I  dreaded  at  all  times  the  consequences 
of  carelessness.  I  left  nothing  to  chance  and 
took  everything  under  advisement  before  ar- 
riving to  a  conclusion.  /  saw  clearly  the  triumph 
of  Zionism  in  a  Senate  resolution.  Hitherto,  all 
political  work  of  Zionism  was  confined  within 
a  limited  circle  of  foreign  ministers,  represen- 
tatives of  different  governments  and  chancel- 
lories. No  parliament  in  the  world  had  as  yet 
openly  spoken  concerning  Palestine  as  a  home- 
land for  the  Jewish  people.  The  Jewish  ques- 
tion came  up  during  the  Versailles  peace  con- 
ference, with  all  its  manifold  complexities  and 
perplexities.  Every  newly-created  state  had  a 
Jewish  question.  In  general,  the  Jewish  ques- 
tion came  up  before  that  conference  under  the 
terms  of  "minority  rights,"  or  "the  principle 
of  self-determination."  The  formal  action  at 
San  Remo,  Italy,  on  the  question  of  Zionism 
was  only  one  phase  resulting  from  the  treaty 

[147] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ef  Versailles,  insofar  as  mandatory  territories 
were  concerned.  Even  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, no  formal  discussion  had  yet  taken  place 
concerning  Palestine  as  a  Jewish  national 
homeland. 

I  knew  the  British  viewpoint  in  reference  to 
the  several  nationals  inhabiting  its  widely  scat- 
tered colonial  possessions.  During  the  entire 
period  of  the  war,  with  the  sole  exception  of 
the  last  six  months,  I  lived  under  the  British 
flag.  At  no  time,  ever  since  the  Balfour  Dec- 
laration, did  I  believe,  nor  do  I  believe  now,  that 
Great  Britain  will  build  up  Palestine,  develop 
it,  give  it  its  protection,  establish  a  safe  gov- 
ernment, defend  it  from  attacks  of  the  Moslem, 
and  then  turn  it  over  to  the  Zionists  or  to  any 
of  their  groups  and  tell  them,  "Here  is  a  pres- 
ent to  the  Jewish  people ;  take  over  the  govern- 
ment and  establish  yourself  as  an  independent 
state."  Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  have  I  be- 
lieved, nor  do  I  believe  now,  that  Great  Britain 
will  retain  Palestine  for  all  times  as  a  crown 
colony.  That  is  not  the  history  of  the  British 
colonial  possessions.  Every  nation,  Christian 
and  Mohammedan,  have  a  common  interest  in 
Palestine.  /  believe  now,  as  I  have  believed  all 
my  life,  that  only  God  will  give  Palestine  to  the 
Jewish  people  to  have  it  as  really  their  own. 

When  the  question  of  conscription  came  up, 

[148] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  several  colonial  governments  wanted  favor- 
able comment,  favorable  reports  and  favorable 
action  from  every  element  of  the  population. 
Great  Britain,  as  the  most  experienced  colonial 
power,  knew  the  psychological  effect  upon  the 
-world's  Jewry  of  a  promise  to  re-establish  the 
Jewish  nation  in  Palestine.  The  majority  of 
the  people  throughout  the  world  interpreted  the 
Balfour  Declaration  as  implying  the  establish- 
ment of  a  complete  independent  Jewish  state  in 
Palestine.  The  leaders  of  Zionism,  particularly 
in  Great  Britain,  knew  the  real  meaning  of  the 
Balfour  Declaration,  which  is  far  from  meaning 
just  that. 

Being  an  impartial  student  of  current  events, 
it  was  an  easy  matter  to  sum  up  the  political 
situation,  with  particular  reference  to  the  man- 
datory question.  America — or  rather  the  for- 
mer Wilson  administration — will  go  down  in 
history  as  the  real  sponsors  of  the  League  of 
Nations.  America  did  not  join  the  League  of 
Nations.  It  is  strong  enough  by  itself  to  carry 
out  its  aims  and  objects  and  purposes,  without 
submitting  any  of  them  to  the  European  or 
Asiatic  statesmen  who  compose  the  personnel 
of  the  League  of  Nations.  Because  of  this 
strong  position  politically,  and  because  of  the 
manifold  strength  America  is  able  to  exhibit 
economically,  most  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth 

[149] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

naturally  turn  toward  America.  Every  student 
of  the  events  of  the  last  decade  can  readily  see 
that  America  is  the  only  country  in  the  world 
today  whose  voice  is  heard  everywhere. 

Events  in  Palestine  as  reflected  by  the  action 
and  propaganda  of  the  Arab  population  there, 
created  quite  a  respectable  size  of  opposition  in 
Great  Britain  to  the  Lloyd  George-Balfour-Pal- 
estine  policy.  Moreover,  the  fact  that  the  Jews 
demanded  in  every  newly-created  state  minority 
rights,  added  to  the  everlasting  prejudice 
against  them  had  brought  about  an  avalanche 
of  anti-Semitic  agitation  throughout  the  world. 
The  Jews  were  put  on  the  defensive  everywhere. 
A  new  line  of  apologetics  had  to  be  constructed 
since  the  Treaty  of  Versailles.  No  country  re- 
mained free  from  anti-Semitic  outbreaks.  The 
reports  from  Bolshevik  Russia,  particularly  in 
the  Ukraine,  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
Jews  were  massacred,  driven  out  from  their 
homes  and  robbed  of  their  last  belongings,  con- 
tributed no  mean  proportion  to  the  propaganda 
against  the  Jews.  A  people,  pogromized,  out- 
lawed in  many  states,  and  massacred  as  if  it 
were  a  threatened  menace,  could  not  continue 
to  occupy  a  respectable  opinion  in  the  minds 
of  even  the  non-Jewbaiting  elements.  For  a 
time  it  looked  that  the  world  will  be  divided 
in  two  parties — Jewbaiters  and  non-Jewbait- 

[150] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

ers — leaving  no  room  for  Jewish  friends. 

The  logical  solution  to  a  problem  of  this 
kind,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  was  not  press-agita- 
tion, counter-propaganda,  mass  meetings  or 
apologetics.  Only  one  voice  could  be  heard 
throughout  the  entire  world;  that  voice  be- 
longed to  America.  I  believed  in  America;  I 
never  for  a  moment  doubted  Americanism.  The 
only  question  which  remained  in  my  mind  was, 
How  can  the  American  people  themselves  lis- 
ten to  a  voice  which  would  bring  about  the  only 
remedy  to  the  newly-created  dangerous  situa- 
tion? It  appeared  to  me  that  a  resolution  in 
the  United  States  Senate  would  receive  the  at- 
tention of  the  whole  American  people.  The 
justice  of  the  cause  of  the  Jew  would  be  recog- 
nized. The  Christian  world  would  be  reminded 
of  the  great  things  ancient  Israel  achieved.  The 
newly-created  prejudice  and  hatred  would 
gradually  disappear ;  instead,  a  nation  with  the 
balance  of  justice  in  its  hand  would  sit  in  judg- 
ment, to  either  liberate  or  doom  a  people  that 
had  withstood  all  attacks  throughout  the  cen- 
turies. 

I  could  not  for  an  instant  believe  that,  when 
the  question  of  Palestine  would  come  up  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  American  Senators 
would  vote  it  down.  I  could  no  more  believe 
that  than  I  can  now  imagine  that  the  American 

[151] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Senate  would  vote  to  take  away  the  indepen- 
dence of  Cuba  or  re-establish  slavery.  The 
history  of  America  and  Americanism  is  one 
continuous  chapter  of  progress.  Moreover, 
means  employed  and  details  arranged  were  in- 
variably with  pure  motives  back  of  them. 

Thus,  being  convinced  in  my  own  belief  that 
there  is  but  one  result  possible,  I  dreaded  most 
the  least  miscalculation  in  the  method  to  be 
employed.  I  managed,  with  the  help  of  God, 
to  get  the  advice  and  consent  to  my  plan  from 
leading  statesmen.  It  so  happened  that,  due 
to  the  ordinary  routine  of  our  State  Depart- 
ment, many  details  had  to  be  worked  out  and 
obstacles  removed  before  this  particular  ques- 
tion could  be  taken  up.  This  fact  stood  out 
above  everything  else  during  a  period  of  almost 
two  months.  I  took  every  possible  element  of 
danger  in  consideration,  and  finally  arrived  to 
one  conclusion :  a  direct  appeal  to  the  President, 
which  was  as  follows : 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

September  30, 1921. 
President  Warren  G.  Harding, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Mr.  President: 

[152] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Knowing  your  interest  in  and  sympathy  for 
the  Jewish  people,  may  I  not  on  this,  the  eve  of 
the  Jewish  religious  New  Year,  pray  to  you  to 
take  under  consideration  the  unhappy  situation 
qf  the  Jewish  people,  with  particular  reference 
to  the  refugees  of  the  former  war  zones  which 
are  now  independent  states.  Under  existing 
conditions,  with  so  many  newly-created  boun- 
dary lines  within  the  former  Russian  and  Aus- 
tria-Hungarian countries,  their  position  is  iden- 
tical with  that  of  a  man  without  a  country. 

The  British  Government,  through  Foreign 
Minister  Arthur  Balfour,  on  November  2,  1917, 
expressed  themselves  favorable  to  the  project 
of  establishing  a  national  homeland  for  the  Jew- 
ish people  in  Palestine.  On  April  24,  1920,  at 
San  Remo,  Italy,  Great  Britain  was  created 
the  mandatory  power  over  Palestine  with  a 
view  of  carrying  out  the  proposal  of  the  Bal- 
four Declaration. 

But  conditions  have  changed.  The  League 
of  Nations  prudently  deferred  the  matter  of 
ratifying  mandates  until  the  powerful  voice  of 
America  will  be  heard  on  the  question.  Mean- 
time, the  agony  of  the  Jewish  refugees,  whose 
sole  hope  had  been  directed  Zionward,  beggars 
description.  To  ameliorate  this  condition,  your 
influence  is  indispensable. 

Since  the   Balfour  Declaration,  the  World 

[153] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Zionist  Organization  was  recognized  as  the 
agency  to  prepare  Palestine  for  a  large  Jewish 
immigration.  Extensive  plans  for  the  irriga- 
tion, afforestation  and  electrification  have  been 
made.  More  than  ten  thousand  pioneers  are  al- 
ready at  work  building  roads  and  homes.  The 
interpretation  of  the  delay  of  the  ratification 
of  the  British  mandate  given  by  the  Jewish  ene- 
mies— and  God  knows  that  there  are  many  of 
that  clan — reacts  very  unfavorably  and  has 
made  the  situation  critical. 

Thus,  it  becomes  obvious  that  unless  Amer- 
ica, through  you,  gives  its  assent,  the  whole 
project  will  fail.  And,  Mr.  President,  I  will 
continue  to  pray. 

Your  most  humble  servant, 
SG:DC  (Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 

The  President's  reply*  through  Secretary 
Christian  was  as  follows: 

"The  White  House, 
Washington. 

October  13,  1921. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer : 

The  President  directs  me  to  acknowledge  the 


•See  facsimile  of  letter  on  page  7. 

[164] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

receipt  of  your  letter  of  September  30th,  and 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  with  Turkey,  known  as  the  Treaty  of 
Sevres,  has  not  come  into  effect  and  that,  there- 
fore, such  matters  as  the  ratification  of  man- 
dates and  other  readjustments  affecting  the  for- 
mer Ottoman  Empire  cannot  for  the  moment 
be  given  definitive  action. 

Sincerely  yours, 
(Signed)  GEO.  B.  CHRISTIAN,  JR. 

Secretary  to  the  President. 

Rabbi  Simon  Glazer, 

612  Massachusetts  Building, 

Kansas  City,  Missouri." 

This  letter,  negative  though  it  appears  on  its 
face,  cleared  the  atmosphere  completely  and 
permitted  further  action  in  order  to  remove  any 
possible  complications.  It  now  became  appar- 
ent to  me  that  the  only  stumbling-block  on  the 
path  of  a  Palestine  resolution  in  the  Senate 
was  the  Treaty  of  Sevres,  which  had  not  been 
issued.  Contrary  to  the  expectations  and  to  the 
published  promises  of  the  Executive  of  the 
World  Zionist,  the  conference  at  Geneva  did 
not  take  up  the  question  of  the  Palestine  man- 
date. Additional  light  on  the  situation  had  to 

[155] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

be  gotten  before  any  further  step  could  be 
taken. 

Senator  Curtis,  in  his  letter  of  October  17, 
1921,*  informed  me  that  the  matter  was  taken 
up  by  him  with  Secretary  of  State  Hughes, 
which  proved  to  be  the  missing  link  of  the  whole 
chain  of  events.  I  recognized  that  there  was  a 
possibility  of  complications,  but  neither  in  the 
American  State  Department  nor  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  This  was  due  to  the  complicated 
situation  in  Europe,  particularly  the  interpreta- 
tion of  what  a  national  homeland  in  Palestine 
means. 

Unexpectedly,  the  chain  of  events  was  aug- 
mented by  the  receipt  of  a  telegram  from  a  for- 
mer member  of  the  Polish  Saim  named  Noah 
Prilutsky.  The  contents  of  the  telegram  was 
innocent  enough.  It  stated  that  he,  having 
been  a  personal  friend  of  my  late  brother-in- 
law,  Rabbi  Bernard  Cantor,**  desires  to  come 
to  Kansas  City  in  the  interest  of  Ukrainian  re- 
lief, and  that  he  expects  to  raise  in  Kansas  City, 
through  my  influence,  at  least  fifty  thousand 
dollars  for  that  purpose.  Prilutsky  came  to 
Kansas  City,  but  not  at  my  invitation.  The 
local  Ukrainian  Relief  Society,  however,  wanted 
my  participation  in  their  efforts  to  raise  a  sub- 
stantial sum  for  the  Prilutsky  mission.  I  had 

•See   Chapter  VIII,    Page    IBS. 

••Who  was  killed  by  the  Bolsheviks  while  on  a  relief  mission 
in  Ukraine. 

[156] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

several  lengthy  interviews  with  Prilutsky.  I 
desired  to  gather  as  much  information  as  pos- 
sible concerning  the  Zionist  situation  in  Po- 
land; and  he,  being  a  well-informed  man  with 
arr  ambition  to  promote  his  political  aspirations, 
I  calculated  would  be  in  a  position  to  clear  up 
certain  matters  which  still  remained  clouded 
in  my  mind. 

During  one  of  the  interviews,  drifting  from 
one  subject  to  another,  I  discovered  that  Prilut- 
sky represented  an  element  in  the  Polish  Jewry, 
the  existence  of  which  was  entirely  unfamiliar 
to  me.  That  element  is  known  as  the  Volkist 
party.  I  frankly  confess  that  my  ignorance  in- 
spired me  with  fear,  for  Prilutsky  had  told  me 
that  he  intended  to  see  important  persons  at 
Washington,  and  that  above  all,  his  sole  mis- 
sion in  this  country  was  to  get  to  see  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  have  an  inter- 
view with  him.  For  the  first  time,  I  had  a  real 
interpretation  of  the  term  "Diaspora  national- 
ism." 

I  am  forced  to  chronicle  the  inglorious  failure 
of  the  Prilutsky  mission  in  Kansas  City.  The 
good  people  of  my  neighboring  city  of  St.  Jo- 
seph, reading  these  pages,  will  learn  the  rea- 
son I  disappointed  them  by  not  appearing  to 
speak  at  the  Prilutsky  meeting  there.  I  sensed 
danger,  not  only  to  the  Zionist  cause,  but  to  the 

[157] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Polish  Jewry,  particularly  to  the  Jews  of  the 
city  of  Vilna. 

The  Prilutsky  way  of  thinking  and  of  pro- 
moting" political  interests  cannot  be  recommend- 
ed in  America.  I  am  praying  that  it  shall 
never  succeed  in  Europe. 

The  effect  that  the  unexpected  overwhelming 
information  as  regards  European  conditions 
had  upon  me  was  crystallized  in  my  determina- 
tion to  redouble  my  efforts  and  remove  all  ex- 
ternal complications. 


[158] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
SENATOR  CURTIS 

Senator  Spencer  said  to  me :  "When  you  see 
me  or  any  other  man  on  the  Senate  floor,  you 
see  a  senator ;  but  when  you  see  him  (pointing 
at  Senator  Curtis)  you  are  in  the  presence  of  a 
power,  a  force." 

United  States  Senator  Charles  Curtis  is  a 
power.  Only  one  who  is  a  power  can  possess 
such  nobility  of  character.  There  is  no  man 
in  American  life  more  free  from  prejudice  than 
Senator  Curtis.  When  every  detail  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Palestine  Resolution  will  have 
been  written,  Senator  Curtis  will  go  down  in 
Jewish  history  as  one  of  the  great  champions 
of  Israel. 

Governor  Henry  J.  Allen  of  Kansas  intro- 
duced the  subject  of  a  Palestine  Resolution  to 
Senator  Curtis  during  the  early  part  of  Sep- 
tember, 1921.  From  that  day  until  the  Pales- 
tine resolution  as  introduced  by  Senator  Lodge 
was  passed,  Senator  Curtis  continued  to  cham- 
pion the  cause  of  Jewish  nationalism  without 
interruption.  Several  facsimiles  of  his  letters 
and  a  facsimile  of  his  telegram  calling  me  to 

[169] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Washington,  appear  in  this  work.*  He  did 
many  more  things  before  the  last  trace  of  com- 
plications was  removed.  But  this  end  of  the 
work  is  a  glorious  chapter  of  American  diplom- 
acy which  can  not  be  recorded  here.  The  most 
remote  possibility  of  opposition  he  foresaw  and 
prevented  its  coming  to  light.  Unfortunately, 
I  am  not  privileged  to  publish  the  communica- 
tions between  Secretary  of  State  Charles  Evans 
Hughes  and  Senator  Curtis.  Some  day  they 
will  be  published  and  very  much  light  will  be 
thrown  on  the  subject.  But  whatever  com- 
munications I  am  privileged  to  publish  are  of 
historic  value.  My  first  letter  to  Senator  Cur- 
tis was  as  follows : 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

September  20,  1921. 
Honorable  Charles  Curtis, 
United  States  Senator, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Senator : 

Governor  Allen  was  kind  enough  to  have 
sent  to  me  your  very  gracious  letter  to  him  in 
reference  to  a  resolution  of  sympathy  with  the 
Jewish  people  in  their  efforts  to  establish  a 


*§«•   pag«*    21-2S. 

[160] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

national  homeland  in  Palestine.  I  felt  very 
happy  reading  your  heartfelt  expressions  in 
your  letter  to  Governor  Allen.  As  long  as 
America  will  have  men  with  such  broad  views, 
we  need  fear  no  foe. 

As  to  the  phraseology  of  the  resolution,  if 
such  a  resolution  will  be  found  to  be  practical, 
in  order  to  avoid  complications,  I  think  you, 
my  dear  Senator,  should  be  the  only  one  to 
draft  it.  *  *  * 

One  or  two  points  I  must  make  clear  to  you. 
Our  country  not  being  a  member  of  the  League 
of  Nations  and  our  Government  having  adopted 
a  policy  regarding  all  mandates,  as  you  well 
know,  is  not  in  a  position  to  ratify  the  man- 
date as  such.  There  are  at  present  at  the  very 
least  three  million  Jews  throughout  the  Euro- 
pean countries  who  can  claim  no  country  as 
their  home  and  who  are  not  claimed  by  any 
country  either  as  citizens  or  subjects.  The  sit- 
uation is  very  critical.  I  knew  that  Governor 
Allen  is  a  big-hearted  American.  My  life-long 
friend,  Senator  Albert  B.  Cummins,  will  lend 
you  all  assistance  possible.  You  may  talk  the 
matter  over  with  him.  He  is  a  friend  and  a 
great  American,  as  you  well  know.  *  *  * 

America  is  the  only  country  that  can  accom- 
[161] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

plish  it,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  with  your 
help,  we  will  succeed. 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Senator 

Your  most  humble  servant, 
SG:DC  (Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  United  Synagogues." 

Senator  Curtis  replied  as  follows : 

"United  States  Senate 
Committee  on  Indian  Affairs. 

September  23,  1921. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer : 

Your  letter  came  duly  to  hand,  and  I  assure 
you  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  talk  with 
Secretary  Hughes  at  the  first  opportunity,  in 
regard  to  the  resolution  of  sympathy  with  the 
Jewish  people.  Our  committee  meets  every 
morning  a  little  after  10:00  and  the  session 
opens  at  12:00,  which  makes  it  almost  impos- 
sible for  me  to  see  the  Secretary  of  State.* 
However,  as  soon  as  I  get  a  little  time,  I  will 
gladly  call  upon  him  and  go  over  the  situation 
with  him  fully.  You  may  rest  assured  that  I 
will  do  all  I  can  to  assist. 
With  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  CHARLES  CURTIS." 


•Senator  Curtis,  being  the  Republican  whip  in  the  Senate,  must 
b»  present  during  the  whole  time  of  every  session  in  the  Senate. 


[162] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Senator  Curtis,  as  it  appears  from  the  follow- 
ing letter,  carried  out  his  promise : 

"United  States  Senate 
Committee  on  Indian  Affaire. 

October  17,  1921. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

After  receiving  your  letter  I  prepared  a  joint 
resolution  expressing  sympathy  for  the  Jewish 
people  in  their  efforts  to  establish  a  national 
homeland  in  Palestine. 

I  took  it  to  the  State  Department  and  went 
over  the  matter.    *    *    * 
With  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  CHARLES  CURTIS." 

When  this  letter  reached  me,  I  was  over- 
whelmed with  joy.  I  felt  that  a  chapter  of 
glorious  history  was  written.  The  spirit  of 
friendliness,  justice,  humanity  and  real  Amer- 
icanism back  of  the  whole  work  so  filled  my 
heart  that  it  took  me  an  entire  day  to  gather 
my  thoughts  and  draft  a  letter  in  reply,  which 
was  as  follows : 

"Office  of  United  Synagogues, 
612-14  Massachusetts  Bldg., 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

October  20,  1921. 

[163] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Senator  Charles  Curtis, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

My  dear  Senator  Curtis: 

I  beg  leave  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your 
most  kind  letter  of  the  17th  inst.  Permit  me 
to  state:  The  Jewish  people  in  all  its  history 
will  not  forget  what  you  have  done  and  are  try- 
ing to  do.  Foreign  Minister  Arthur  Balfour 
furthered  the  great  historical  movement  to  re- 
store Palestine  to  the  Jewish  people  by  the 
Declaration  now  bearing  his  name;  and  you, 
as  I  see,  have  been  destined  by  Almighty  God 
to  bring  the  whole  matter  to  a  successful  goal. 
I  am  happy  in  the  knowledge  that  you  have 
framed  a  resolution  with  the  intention  of  bring- 
ing it  before  Congress. 

I  would  highly  appreciate  to  have  a  copy  of 
the  resolution,  autographed  by  yourself,  for 
the  sake  of  preserving  it  in  Jewish  history.* 

I  note  that  your  powerful  influence  will  bring 
about  the  active  participation  of  our  State  De- 
partment in  promoting  the  establishment  of  a 
national  homeland  for  the  Jewish  people  in  Pal- 
estine. Your  proposal  in  itself  had  already  as 
much  influence  as  if  the  resolution  had  been 
passed  by  the  Congress.  May  the  Almighty 
God  continue  to  shower  His  favors  upon  you  for 


•The  resolution  as  drafted  by  Senator  Curtis,  autographed  by 
him,  as  requested  in  this  letter,  I  handed  to  Mr.  Nahum  Soko- 
low,  Chairman  of  Executive  Committee  of  the  World  Zionist 
Organization. 


[164] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  sake  of  our  own  great  country  and  for  the 
sake  of  the  downtrodden  people  of  Israel. 

I  see  by  the  latest  reports  that  God  has  been 
with  you  and  that  you  have  been  lifted  to  an 
eminent  position  in  the  most  powerful  body 
of  our  country.** 

Your  humble  servant, 

(Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues 
of  Greater  Kansas  City." 

Summarizing  the  situation,  I  found : 

(a)  The  President  had  become  familiarized 
with  the  whole  question; 

(b)  The  State  Department,  for  the  first 
time  in  American  history,  had  received  a  direct 
call  for  help  from  a  powerful  source  in  the 
United  States  Senate; 

(c)  Several  eminent  statesmen,  Governors 
of  great  states,  became  interested  to  the  extent 
of  lending  every  help  to  bring  about  a  solution 
to  the  Jewish  problem; 

(d)  The  Zionist  Organization  of  America, 
as   well   as   the   World   Zionist   Organization, 
knowing  at  this  time  every  detail  in  connection 
with  this  work,  could  not  and  did  not  evolve 
any  better  plan ; 


**Senator  Curtis  had  then  been  named  chairman  of  the  Senate 
Rules   Committee. 


[165] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

(e)  No  one  else  was  in  a  position  to  take 
up  the  work  should  I  leave  it ;  or  start  in  anew 
from  another  angle. 

Further  work  and  redoubled  efforts  was  the 
only  course  left  open  for  me.  I  no.  longer 
feared  complications,  but  I  dreaded  stagnation. 
While  the  whole  question  was  still  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  President,  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  several  of  the  most  influential  Senators,  I 
failed  to  see  any  other  course  than  that  of 
proceeding  to  Washington  and  bringing  the 
whole  question  to  such  a  point  where  the  mere 
formality  of  bringing  the  resolution  would  be 
left  to  be  done. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  connection  with  such  a 
plan  was  the  pending  Washington  Disarmament 
Conference,  which  was  to  be  opened  on  Novem- 
ber llth.  To  go  to  Washington  merely  to  see 
one  or  two  Senators,  regardless  of  how  influ- 
ential they  are,  I  knew  would  be  futile.  I 
therefore  mapped  out  the  program  to  include 
seeing  the  President,  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  several  friends  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
thereby  removing  the  least  trace  of  any  objec- 
tion to  the  presentation  of  a  resolution  favor- 
ing Palestine  as  a  national  homeland  for  the 
Jewish  people,  should  this  be  the  only  course 
left.  To  have  access  to  the  President  and  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  during  the  Disarmament 

[166] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Conference  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  accom- 
plish. I  realized  it  and  therefore  prepared  my- 
self accordingly. 

I  telegraphed  to  Senator  Curtis  and  wrote 
to  Governor  Allen.  On  November  14th  I  re- 
ceived the  following  telegram : 

"Rabbi  Simon  Glazer 
Rabbi  United  Synagogues 
Greater  Kansas  City 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 

President  Harding  will  see  you  Friday  morn- 
ing this  week  at  ten  thirty. 

(Signed)  CHARLES  CURTIS."* 

From  that  moment  onward  until  the  Pales- 
tine resolution  passed  the  United  States  Senate, 
whenever  a  serious  question  came  up,  Senator 
Curtis  was  ever  ready  to  help.  He  was  the 
first  great  American  to  take  this  matter  up 
with  the  Department  of  State.  He  drafted  the 
resolution,  the  substance  of  which  was  em- 
bodied in  the  Lodge  resolution.  He  cleared  the 
atmosphere  and  paved  the  way.  His  work  was 
monumental  and  will  remain  a  glorious  chapter 
of  Jewish  history. 

After  all  complications,  obstructions,  impedi- 
ments and  causes  of  accidents  were  removed, 

•Facsimile   of  this   telegram   appears    on   Page   21. 

[167] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

and  the  question  of  a  resolution  was  reduced  to 
a  mere  formality  as  to  who  should  present  it, 
Senator  Lodge,  as  the  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Foreign  Affairs,  undertook  to  do  it. 
The  Curtis  spirit  best  appears  in  the  following 
letter : 

"United  States  Senate 

Committee  on  Rules 
Charles  Curtis,  Chairman. 

April  20,  1922. 
My  dear  Rabbi  Glazer: 

I  have  your  wire  and  note  what  you  say  in 
regard  to  the  Lodge  Resolution.  I  will  gladly 
present  your  wire  to  Senator  Lodge  and  will 
again  urge  him  to  ask  for  early  action  upon 
his  resolution.  I  have  already  spoken  to  him 
in  regard  to  it. 

You  may  rest  assured,  it  will  give  me  pleas- 
ure to  do  all  I  can  in  securing  early  action. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours, 
(Signed)  CHARLES  CURTIS." 


[168] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 


CHAPTER  IX. 
AT  WASHINGTON 

On  my  may  to  the  Capitol  I  met  Louis  Lipsky 
at  Chicago  with  whom  I  conferred  regarding 
the  latest  developments.  Max  Shulman,  being 
a  member  of  the  Greater  Actions  Committee 
of  the  World  Zionist  Organization  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Zionist 
Organization  of  America,  participated  in  the 
conference.  Both  of  them  were,  to  say  the 
least,  overwhelmed  with  joy.  I  urged  to  have 
Nahum  Sokolow,  Chairman  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  World  Zionist  Organization, 
meet  me  at  Washington.  Lipsky  undertook  to 
wire  to  New  York  to  have  the  meeting  ar- 
ranged.* 

I  arrived  in  Washington  early  Thursday 
morning,  November  17,  1921.  Judge  Henry  J. 
Dannenbaum,  Abraham  Goldberg  and  Max 
Rhoade,  representative  of  the  Jewish  Corre- 
spondence Bureau  at  Washington,  met  me  late 
that  afternoon.  By  that  time  I  had  already 
outlined  my  course  of  action.  Senator  Spencer 
was  of  the  greatest  help  to  me  in  arranging 
this  matter.  I  was  received  by  Senator  Spencer 

•See  Page   26. 

[169] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

most  cordially,  and  when  I  laid  the  matter  be- 
fore him,  he  'phoned  to  the  State  Department, 
requesting  an  appointment  for  me  with  the 
Secretary  of  State. 

The  Disarmament  Conference  at  that  time 
was  in  full  swing,  with  Secretary  of  State 
Hughes  as  the  central  figure.  The  State  De- 
partment informed  Senator  Spencer  that  the 
appointment  would  be  made  later  that  after- 
noon or  during  the  evening.  Senator  Spencer 
promised  to  'phone  the  confirmation  of  the  ap- 
pointment. It  so  happened  that  during  the 
conference  with  Dannenbaum,  Goldberg  and 
Rhoade,  I  was  called  up  by  Senator  Spencer, 
who  informed  me  that  Under-Secretary  of 
State,  Henry  P.  Fletcher,  would  see  me  to- 
gether with  a  delegation  Tuesday  morning,  the 
22nd.  Judge  Dannenbaum  is  not  a  very  strong 
man  physically.  When  he  overheard  the  con- 
versation between  Senator  Spencer  and  my- 
self, his  heart  failed  him  considerably  and  we 
had  to  interrupt  our  conference,  so  as  to  enable 
him  to  get  his  bearings  again.  Dannenbaum 
left  for  New  York  to  impart  the  latest  devel- 
opments to  Nahum  Sokolow.*  Goldberg  re- 
mained with  me,  and  we  spent  the  better  part 
of  that  night  in  mapping  out  a  detailed  pro- 
gram. 

*See  Page  27. 

[170] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Before  retiring  for  the  night,  I  made  an 
analysis  of  all  I  had  learned  from  Dannenbaum 
and  Goldberg.  Summing  it  up,  I  reduced  it  to 
two  sentences:  (a)  The  World  Zionist  Or- 
ganization recognized  that  the  political  situa- 
tion during  and  after  the  Carlsbad  Congress 
was  very  critical,  with  the  sole  hope  of  Amer- 
ican assistance  in  view;  (b)  the  Zionist  Or- 
ganization of  America,  with  the  exception  of 
the  work  done  at  Kansas  City  in  the  office  of 
the  United  Synagogues,  had  no  program  of  its 
own  by  which  to  obtain  the  sorely  needed 
American  help. 

The  greatest  drawback  up  until  November 
18,  1921,  in  connection  with  political  Zionist 
work  in  America  was,  that  the  only  thing  ever 
requested  of  the  leading  statesmen  of  America 
was  a  mere  expression  of  sympathy.  Such  a 
sympathetic  expression  being  obtained,  it  was 
broadcasted  through  the  press  throughout  the 
country,  and  there  the  matter  ended.  In  line 
with  this  method  of  procedure  it  had  been  sug- 
gested to  me  that  during  my  interview  with 
the  President,  I  should  obtain  from  him  a 
promise,  either  to  write  a  letter  of  sympathy 
to  be  read  at  a  great  New  York  Keren  Hayesod 
mass  meeting,  or  to  invite  him  to  come  there 
to  speak.  I  refused  to  become  a  committee  on 
invitation.  Moreover,  I  convinced  Dannenbaum 

[171] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

and  Goldberg  that  such  a  line  of  work  must  be 
ended  right  there  and  then,  that  the  only  work 
possible  in  the  future  is  real  action  which 
would  and  should  bring  results.  The  American 
Republic  must  speak  in  no  mistaken  terms.  In- 
deed, the  opinion  of  every  great  American  is 
of  inestimable  value;  but  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  about  an  early  solution  to  the  com- 
plicated Palestine  mandate  problem,  action  of 
a  different  line  entirely  is  required. 

I  finally  reduced  the  nature  of  the  subject  to 
be  discussed  with  the  President  to  three  fun- 
damental principles: 

(1)  That  only  the  Anglo-Saxon  nations  can 
understand  the  psychology  of  the  Jew,  they 
living  under  a  system  of  government  founded 
upon  Biblical  doctrines; 

(2)  Lord  Balfour,  being  at  Washington,  can 
be  informed  that  America  is  interested  in  open- 
ing new  channels  for  Jewish  immigration  and 
therefore  would  encourage  the  principle  enun- 
ciated by  the  British  Government  that  Pales- 
tine become  a  national  homeland  for  the  Jew- 
ish people; 

(3)  That  local  complications,  if  such  there 
may  arise,  can  be  best  disposed  of  by  public 
resolution  in  the  Senate,  with  the  complete  ap- 
proval of  the  State  Department. 

[172] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Senator  Curtis,  in  his  letter  of  introduction,* 
requested  the  President  to  give  me  a  "full 
and  complete  hearing."  No  man  pleading  the 
cause  of  a  people  ever  had  a  better  hearing 
than  I  received  from  President  Harding.  The 
President,  being  thoroughly  democratic,  en- 
abled me  to  carry  out  my  program  of  present- 
ing the  matter  to  him  in  the  simplest  manner. 
He  was  deeply  interested,  even  moved,  when  I 
recited  to  him  certain  incidents  in  the  pogro- 
mized  section  of  the  former  Pale  of  Jewish 
settlement,  particularly  in  the  Ukraine. 

The  rest  of  events  came  to  pass  in  due  course, 
true  to  the  program  mapped  out  during  that 
memorable  interview. 

A  particular  incident  in  a  pogromized  city, 
which  affected  a  resident  of  Kansas  City,  who 
had  died  there  a  couple  of  years  ago,  supplied 
me  the  necessary  cover  with  which  to  prevent 
premature  publicity  of  the  proposed  course  of 
action  regarding  the  Palestine  mandate.  The 
Associated  Press  carried  the  report  that  the 
President  had  graciously  authorized  the  admis- 
sion of  certain  Ukrainian  orphans,  and  in  due 
course  they  were  admitted  to  this  country. 

The  same  afternoon  I  saw  Senator  Curtis. 
The  whole  chain  of  events  was  a  great  triumph 
for  the  Senator.  He  was  very  happy  to  learn 

*&••  Pag*  22. 

[173] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

of  the  appointment  at  the  State  Department 
made  by  Senator  Spencer. 

Mr.  Sokolow  arrived  in  Washington  Monday 
morning.  The  Zionist  headquarters  in  New 
York  was  quite  a  busy  center  during  those 
days.  Abraham  Goldberg  personally  trans- 
mitted the  news  to  headquarters  and  came 
back  with  Mr.  Nahum  Sokolow.  My  confer- 
ence with  Mr.  Sokolow  was  a  very  lengthy  one. 
Above  all,  he  was  inspired  with  the  resolution 
as  drafted  by  Senator  Curtis.  He  showed  the 
resolution  to  Lord  Balfour.  In  relating  to  me 
his  interview  with  Lord  Balfour  and  what  the 
latter  thought  of  the  Curtis  resolution,  Mr. 
Sokolow  quoted  this  Talmudic  phrase:  "Raah 
et  har-M'ziah  v'Nophal  Oleha"  (he  saw  a  treas- 
ure and  grasped  it). 

As  a  matter  of  history,  which  in  the  light  of 
events  may  become  of  the  utmost  importance, 
the  Curtis  resolution,  as  it  was  phrased,  went 
much  further  than  either  the  Balfour  Declara- 
tion or  the  resolution  as  it  was  finally  adopted. 
Mr.  Sokolow  retained  in  his  possession  the  orig- 
inal Curtis  resolution  with  the  signature  of 
Senator  Curtis  attached  to  it. 

Senator  Spencer,  Nahum  Sokolow,  Abraham 
Goldberg  and  I  had  a  long  conference  with 
Under-Secretary  of  State  Henry  P.  Fletcher 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Tuesday,  November  22,  1921.  Senator  Spen- 
cer's plea  was  the  feature  of  the  entire  confer- 
ence. 

Senator  Spencer  is  a  Biblical  student.  He 
reads  the  Bible  daily,  and  at  one  of  our  inter- 
views told  me  that  it  takes  just  about  sixty 
hours  to  read  through  the  Bible  from  cover  to 
cover.  He  rises  early,  and  after  reading  the 
Bible,  goes  down  to  his  office  at  the  Senate 
executive  building  promptly  at  eight  o'clock. 
No  Biblical  student  could  have  summed  up  the 
case  for  Palestine  better  than  Senator  Spencer 
did  at  the  State  Department.  He  said:  "The 
people  of  Israel  will  get  Palestine  with  or  with- 
out the  consent  of  our  State  Department." 
This  statement,  in  the  light  of  Zionist  events, 
will  remain  prophetic.  Perhaps  it  was  the  first 
statement  of  its  kind  ever  made  by  a  Christian 
statesman.  During  the  interview  the  whole 
situation  was  gone  into  thoroughly  from  every 
angle.  All  that  was  said  I  knew  beforehand, 
but  I  also  knew  that  every  objectionable  fea- 
ture had  already  been  removed. 

Before  going  to  the  State  Department,  Mr. 
Sokolow  informed  me  that  the  President  al- 
ready had  seen  Lord  Balfour.  I  knew  instinc- 
tively that  President  Harding  found  the  solu- 
tion to  the  problem  and  put  it  in  operation. 

Before  my  departure  from  Washington,   I 

[175] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

addressed  the  following-  communications  to 
President  Harding  and  Under-Secretary  of 
State  Fletcher: 

"Hotel  Washington 
Washington,  D.  C. 

November  24,  1921. 
Honorable  Warren  G.  Harding, 
President  of  the  United  States, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Mr.  President: 

The  Jewish  people  of  the  whole  world  were 
cheered  mightily  by  learning  the  fact  that  you 
have  graciously  mentioned  their  cause  to  the 
Rt.  Honorable  Arthur  Balfour,  Chairman  of 
the  British  delegation  to  the  Disarmament 
Conference. 

The  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  Honorable 
Henry  P.  Fletcher,  on  Tuesday  last,  made  it 
clear  to  the  Honorable  Selden  P.  Spencer, 
United  States  Senator  from  Missouri,  Mr. 
Nahum  Sokolow,  President  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  World  Zionist  Organization, 
Mr.  Abraham  Goldberg,  Secretary  of  the  Pal- 
estine Bureau,  and  myself,  that  the  policy  of 
an  open  door  will  apply  also  to  Palestine.  This 
statement  of  our  State  Department  is  of  the 
greatest  significance  to  the  world's  Jewry. 
With  what  our  State  Department  is  ready  to 

[176] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

do,  there  remains  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
the  future  of  the  Jewish  people  in  Palestine  is 
secured. 

Permit  me  to  state  to  you,  Mr.  President, 
that  the  interest  you  are  taking  at  this  mo- 
ment in  the  Jewish  people  will  remain  a  glori- 
ous chapter  in  history.  With  the  whole  world 
as  an  audience,  you  are  now  so  eloquently 
pleading  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah  that  "Nation  shall  lift  no  sword  against 
nation."  It  is  therefore  in  harmony  with  your 
work  that  you  champion  the  cause  of  the  people 
which  gave  birth  to  that  idea.  May  the  Won- 
der-working God  of  Israel  grant  you  your  own 
prayers  in  like  grace  as  you  did  mine. 

Yours,  my  dear  Mr.  President, 

very  humble  servant, 

(Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 
Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues  of 
Greater  Kansas  City." 

"Hotel  Washington 
Washington,  D.  C. 

November  24,  1921. 
Honorable  Henry  P.  Fletcher, 
Under  Secretary  of  State, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
My  dear  Mr.  Secretary: 

Permit  me  to  thank  you,  in  the  name  of  the 

[177] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

entire  delegation  presented  to  you  by  Senator 
Spencer  for  your  most  cordial  and  gracious  re- 
ception on  Tuesday  last. 

Your  pronouncement  of  the  policy  of  an  open 
door  in  Palestine  is  second  only  to  the  doctrine 
enunciated  by  the  late  Secretary  of  State  John 
Hay.  The  whole  Christian  world  is  interested 
in  Palestine.  Jew  and  Gentile  alike,  when 
praying,  cannot  help  but  connect  their  finest 
feelings  with  Palestine.  Our  own  hope  as 
Americans  is  to  have  our  own  dear  country 
become  a  Palestine  of  the  whole  world.  It  is 
my  fervent  prayer  that  it  may  come  true  dur- 
ing our  time.  When  you  made  this  pronounce- 
ment, you  may  recall  that  I  interrupted  by  ex- 
pressing my  thanks  before  your  sentence  was 
even  concluded.  I  then  realized  that  the  soul 
of  a  great  statesman  was  giving  speech  to  his 
sacred  thoughts. 

With  this  policy  now  permanently  estab- 
lished, the  age-long  dream  of  the  Jewish  people 
may  be  realized,  and  the  millions  of  homeless 
refugees  now  roaming  throughout  Europe  will 
then  find  rest  in  the  ancient  land  of  their 
fathers.  As  an  American,  I  cannot  feel  dif- 
ferent, because  I  can  see  the  hand  of  God  work- 
ing through  our  Government  to  bring  about 
this  happy  result.  I  know  that  there  is 
hardly  a  thing  of  a  material  or  economic  nature 

[178] 


THE  PALESTINE   RESOLUTION 

which  America  can  want  in  Palestine,  but  that 
everything  sacred  to  all  of  us  is  embodied  in 
this  doctrine  and  pronouncement  by  you,  as  it 
means  very  much  to  every  individual  family  of 
America. 

In  this  connection,  I  desire  to  state,  should 
you  or  your  experts  of  the  Near  East  desire 
any  additional  information  concerning  Pales- 
tine, Mr.  Abraham  Goldberg,  Secretary  of  the 
Palestine  Bureau  and  a  member  of  the  Admin- 
istrative Committee  of  the  Zionist  Organization 
of  America,  now  residing  in  New  York,  will  be 
glad  to  furnish  it  to  your  Department. 

Thanking  you  again,  I  beg  leave  to  remain, 
my  dear  Secretary, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

(Signed)  SIMON  GLAZER, 

Rabbi  of  United  Synagogues  of 
Greater  Kansas  City." 

The  day  following  the  conference  at  the 
State  Department  the  Associated  Press  carried 
dispatches  throughout  the  country  regarding 
the  conference  and  connected  my  name  with 
the  delegation,  stating  that  I  had  come  to  Wash- 
ington in  the  interests  of  immigration.  It  is 

[179] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

here  necessary  to  state  that  I  had  requested  the 
Zionist  Organization  of  America  and  every 
member  of  its  delegation  to  Washington  to  re- 
frain from  mentioning  my  name  in  connection 
with  this  work,  fully  realizing  that  the  task 
had  not  yet  been  completed.  I  subsequently 
found  out  that  the  statement  as  given  out  was 
framed  by  Max  Rhoade  at  the  suggestion  of 
Abraham  Goldberg. 

After  introducing  the  representatives  of  the 
Zionist  Organization  of  America  to  all  friends 
at  Washington,  I  knew  that  my  task  was  com- 
pleted. I  handed  to  the  representatives  of  the 
Zionist  Organization  of  America  copies  of  all 
documents,  including  copy  of  all  interviews, 
fully  knowing  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  a 
short  time  when  the  resolution  would  be  for- 
mally introduced  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

Mr.  Sokolow  made  a  request  upon  me  to  con- 
tinue corresponding  with  the  different  friends 
and  carry  on  the  remaining  details  in  connec- 
tion with  the  work  up  until  the  time  that  the 
resolution  would  be  presented  in  the  United 
States  Senate.* 

Upon  my  return  to  Kansas  City  I  continued 
to  watch  developments  and  was  in  touch  with 
all  friends  who  sponsored  the  movement  of  the 

*£)••  P»B«  82. 

[180] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Palestine  resolution,  until  the  very  end.  Sen- 
ator Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  as  Chairman  of  the 
Senate  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  presented 
the  Palestine  resolution.  Senator  Charles  Cur- 
tis, as  Chairman  of  the  Rules  Committee,  re- 
ported it  favorably  without  the  least  delay. 


CHAPTER  X. 
AFTER  THE  RESOLUTION — WHAT? 

President  Harding  kept  his  promise.  The 
mandate  was  issued.  American  influence  did 
it.  The  political  goal  of  Zionism  was  attained. 
At  least  such  is  the  general  impression  of  the 
entire  Jewry  throughout  the  Diaspora. 

Europe  is  still  paralyzed ;  much  more  so  most 
of  the  European  Jewries.  The  desire  of  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Jewish  people  to  leave  their  pres- 
ent miserable  quarters  in  the  ruined  and  semi- 
ruined  European  centers  continues  to  gather 
up  momentum.  Perhaps  they  have  Palestine 
in  view  as  their  future  home.  But  like  Jericho 
of  old,  the  gates  of  Palestine  are  yet  shut  up 
and  barred  up.  Of  course,  it  is  not  anticipated 
that  this  condition  will  remain  as  a  barrier  to 

[181] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Jewish  immigration  in  Palestine  any  great 
length  of  time.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  fact  that 
everyone  interested  in  solving  the  Jewish  prob- 
lem cannot  afford  to  ignore. 

Before  the  mandate  was  issued,  the  British 
Government  published  a  White  Paper,  which 
interprets  the  Palestine  mandate  to  mean  that 
"There  will  be  only  one  status  of  citizenship 
in  Palestine,  and  that  will  be  Palestinian."  It 
also  makes  clear  that  "Any  special  position 
which  the  Zionist  Executive  may  enjoy  will  not 
entitle  it  in  any  degree  to  share  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country."  The  White  Paper  more- 
over makes  it  clear  that  "As  to  the  Zionists, 
the  heads  of  the  Zionist  Organization  have 
given  assurances  that  their  activities  will  be 
carried  on  in  accordance  with  the  policy  set 
out  in  the  final  statement,  which,  on  the  face 
of  it,  implies  and  virtually  promises  an  aban- 
donment of  the  plans  for  making  Palestine  a 
Jewish  political  state." 

This  being  the  state  of  affairs,  Palestine  for 
the  present  will  be  something  less  than  a  Brit- 
ish Crown-colony,  with  this  difference,  how- 
ever, that  Jewish  colonization  and  extensive 
improvements  made  by  Jewish  money  will  be 
permissible  if  not  encouraged.  The  British 
White  Paper  reduces  the  Balfour  Declaration, 

[182] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

wherein  the  promise  of  a  national  homeland  for 
the  Jewish  people  is  plainly  stated,  to  that  of  a 
Jewish  colonization  plan  in  Palestine  under 
liberal  British  laws,  with  special  administrative 
privileges  to  the  ecclesiastical  heads  of  Juda- 
ism. Since  the  World,  Zionist  Organization, 
the  recognized  agency  to  carry  out  the  project 
of  making  Palestine  a  Jewish  national  home- 
land, has  made,  or  was  forced  to  make,  such  a 
compromise,  the  present  Executive  cannot  an- 
ticipate to  continue  to  administer  the  affairs 
of  Zionism.  There  was  no  need  for  such  a  sur- 
render ;  surely  not  the  abandonment  of  the  fun- 
damental principle.  Weizmann  was  in  hysteria 
from  the  very  moment  the  Balfour  Declaration 
was  made.  Ussischkin  endeavored  every  effort 
to  force  his  tyrannical  attitude  on  all  his  col- 
leagues and  subordinates.  Both  of  these  men 
will  have  to  be  eliminated.  Sokolow  is  more 
temperate  than  either  of  the  two,  but  he  is  of 
a  compromising  nature,  which  makes  it  alto- 
gether improbable  for  him  to  be  the  successor 
of  Weizmann. 

The  traditions  of  the  American  Government 
are  such  that  they  carry  out  all  of  the  accepted 
American  principles.  The  Palestine  resolu- 
tion, together  with  the  great  wave  of  Amer- 
ican sympathy  toward  the  establishment  of  a 
national  homeland  in  Palestine,  sooner  or  later 

[183] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

will  be  carried  out  as  it  was  originally  planned 
and  understood  by  the  whole  world. 

A  statement  made  to  me  by  Nahum  Sokolow 
after  he  had  seen  the  Curtis  resolution,  which 
was  to  the  effect  that  it  went  much  further 
than  the  Balfour  Declaration,  convinced  me  at 
the  time  that  the  Zionist  Executive  Committee 
planned  a  compromise  of  far-reaching  conse- 
quences. 

The  World  Zionist  Organization  as  such  is 
composed  mainly  of  representatives  elected  by 
members  of  different  Zionist  organizations 
who  pay  an  annual  shekel  as  dues.  For  ex- 
ample: the  entire  Administrative  Committee 
and  the  Executive  of  the  Zionist  Organization 
of  America  are  representing  approximately 
thirty  thousand  shekel  payers  in  the  United 
States.  Anyone  contributing  even  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding  Pal- 
estine has  no  vote  unless  he  be  a  shekel  payer 
regularly  enrolled  as  a  member  of  some  Zion- 
ist organization.  None  of  the  contributors  to 
the  Keren  Hayesod  become  Zionist  members  by 
their  contributions.  They  have  no  right  to 
either  elect  a  representative  or  present  them- 
selves to  be  elected  to  any  office  in  Zionism. 
The  same  condition  is  true  throughout  the 
world.  Consequently,  a  minority  representing 

[184] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

no  more  than  one  or  one  and  one-half  per  cent 
of  the  total  Jewish  population  have  the  actual 
control  of  Zionist  affairs.  This  fact  weakens 
the  position  of  the  leaders.  They  know  that 
their  mandate  is  not  representing  a  majority 
of  the  Jewish  people.  Such  system  during  the 
early  stages  of  Zionism  was  perfectly  proper. 
In  the  days  of  Herzl  and  his  immediate  suc- 
cessors a  Zionist  at  least  had  to  contribute  a 
shekel  per  annum  as  dues  to  prove  his  interest. 
But  since  the  Balfour  Declaration  was  issued, 
there  is  no  possible  reason  for  such  method  of 
procedure.  The  shekel-paying  Zionists  are, 
therefore,  no  more  than  a  political  party.  A 
whole  people  can  never  join  a  party.  A  party 
can  embrace  only  such  members  as  are  in  com- 
plete accord  with  its  platform.  A  people,  or 
a  parliament  of  a  people,  has  room  for  every 
shade  of  opinion.  The  remedy  for  this  evil  is 
a  Jewish  Congress  of  elected  representatives  of 
the  entire  world's  Jewry.  Such  a  congress 
would  be  both  the  de  facto  and  de  jure  Jewish 
agency  to  carry  on  the  work  in  Palestine. 

The  World  Zionist  Executive,  as  well  as  the 
Executive  of  the  Zionist  Organization  of  Amer- 
ica, were  forced  into  making  all  kinds  of  com- 
promises in  every  direction  in  order  to  be  en- 
abled to  have  the  de  facto  power  to  administer 

[185] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

the  Zionist  affairs  both  in  Diaspora  and  in 
Palestine.  The  fact  that  the  Executive  of  the 
World  Zionist  Organization  have  surrendered 
their  right  to  be  factors  in  the  government  of 
Palestine  is  of  such  gigantic  importance  that  it 
cannot  and  will  not  be  considered  in  any  other 
light  than  that  of  surrender. 

The  Keren  Hayesod  project  was  initiated 
with  a  view  of  raising  one  hundred  million 
dollars.  Most  of  the  money  was  to  come  from 
America.  The  greatest  of  efforts,  both  by  the 
Executive  of  the  World  Zionist  Organization 
and  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America, 
brought  only  two  per  cent  of  the  anticipated 
goal.  In  a  year's  time,  with  the  prestige  of 
Weizmann  and  Sokolow  and  with  the  hard 
work  of  every  sincere  Zionist  in  America,  the 
cash  raised  is  little  more  than  two  million  dol- 
lars. The  Palestinian  budget  in  the  last  year 
and  a  half  had  to  be  first  split  in  half  and  that 
half  had  to  be  halved  again,  until  now  it  is  but 
one-eighth  of  the  original  sum  appropriated. 
The  whole  project  now  travels  in  a  circle.  Pales- 
tine is  closed  for  immigration  because  there  is 
no  employment.  There  is  no  employment  be- 
cause there  are  no  funds  forthcoming  to  carry 
out  any  of  the  contemplated  projects. 

The  optimists  who  believed  that  the  mandate 
will  solve  the  Jewish  problem  went  far  afield. 

[186] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

Of  course,  there  is  no  room  for  pessimism. 
Palestine  will  be  the  national  homeland  of  the 
Jewish  people.  All  that  has  transpired  until 
now  must  be  considered  in  no  other  light  than 
that  of  Athalta  d'G'ulah  (beginning  of  libera- 
tion). 

The  European  nations  will  continue  to  un- 
dergo a  process  of  reorganization  and  rejuvena- 
tion. The  Renaissance  of  the  Jewish  people 
cannot  come  about  in  one  generation.  British 
statesmen  realize  this  fact.  The  extreme  re- 
ligious elements  in  Palestine  itself,  as  repre- 
sented by  the  Agudath  Israel,  decried  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  government  instituted  by  the 
World  Zionist  Organization.  In  America  two 
agencies,  the  Z.  0.  A.  and  the  P.  D.  C.,  work 
separately  for  the  same  end.  The  rich,  the 
reform,  and  the  radical  Jews  are  either  indif- 
ferent or  actively  opposed  to  Zionism  generally. 
These  outstanding  facts  more  than  any  other 
led  the  British  statesmen  to  believe  that  the 
majority  of  the  Jewish  people  in  Diaspora  are 
not  yet  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  the 
proposed  Jewish  national  homeland. 

England  always  keeps  her  promise.  The 
Balfour  Declaration  was  a  solemn  pledge  to  an 
afflicted  people.  England  had  to  fulfil  the 
promise,  but  it  also  had  to  look  into  the  future 

[187] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

and  take  in  consideration  possibilities  and  con- 
sequences. At  best  all  the  British  statesmen 
could  do  under  the  present  circumstances  was 
an  offer  of  a  compromise.  They  consider  this 
compromise  much  more  than  the  originally 
planned  Herzl  charter. 

The  Balfour  Declaration,  however,  was  not 
made  to  the  Zionist  Executive  alone.  It  was 
made  to  the  whole  Jewish  people,  which  now 
numbers  fully  seventeen  million  souls.  The 
whole  world  was  England's  audience,  and  no 
one  can  forget  the  phraseology  of  the  Balfour 
Declaration.  The  Jewish  people  do  not  want 
Palestine  as  a  British  Crown  colony,  nor  will 
they  contribute  large  amounts  to  develop  the 
commerce,  industry  and  the  natural  resources 
of  Palestine  as  long  as  the  prospect  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  being  Jew- 
ish will  remain  remote.  With  Palestine  immi- 
gration held  down  to  a  thousand  or  two  thou- 
sand Chaluzim  per  annum,  the  percentage  of 
the  Jewish  population  in  Palestine,  alongside 
that  of  the  Arabs  and  the  others,  will  always 
remain  small.  The  benefits  of  good  govern- 
ment and  of  all  improvements,  if  conditions 
remain  as  they  are  now,  will  be  harvested  by 
the  Arabs.  This  will  make  their  position  very 
much  stronger  and  enable  them  to  actually  dom- 

[188] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

inate,  not  only  immigration,  but  every  other 
branch  of  the  government  in  Palestine. 

Analyzing  the  situation,  another  disturbing 
element  is  discovered.  The  World  Zionist  Or- 
ganization, having  no  governmental  powers  nor 
ecclesiastical  authority,  are  nevertheless  en- 
deavoring to  control  the  system  of  education 
in  Palestine.  At  best,  their  services  can  be 
rendered  only  in  an  advisory  capacity.  With 
an  overwhelming  element  of  opposition  among 
the  Palestine  Jews,  the  government  will  con- 
tinuously have  two  fighting  factions  on  their 
neck.  The  result  will  be  intrigue  and  regress. 

The  solution  to  these  perplexing  problems 
can  be  found  only  in  a  World  Jewish  Congress, 
preferably  at  Jerusalem.  Such  a  congress 
should  consist  of  representatives  elected  on  a 
democratic  basis  by  the  whole  world's  Jewry. 
Such  a  congress  should  not  be  organized  in  a 
hurry.  It  should  be  held  not  earlier  than  1924. 
The  attention  of  the  world  will  be  focused  upon 
a  congress  like  that  and  the  voice  from  a  united 
Israel  will  be  listened  to  by  all  governments, 
particularly  by  Great  Britain. 

Every  student  of  current  history  will  recog- 
nize in  the  White  Paper  issued  by  Great  Brit- 
ain a  sincere  attempt  to  live  up  to  both  the 
spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  Balfour  Declaration, 

[189] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

but  temporarily  prevented  by  internal  and  ex- 
ternal circumstances  from  initiating  the  work 
at  once.  In  all  this  chain  of  events  which  cause 
the  hope  of  Israel  to  ebb  and  flow,  everyone 
can  see  the  Hand  of  God.  The  people  of  Israel 
have  gone  back  on  many  of  the  traditions  so 
dear  to  their  ancestors.  Judaism  has  taken  a 
secondary  place  in  the  daily  lives  of  the  Jewish 
people  throughout  the  world.  The  rich  con- 
tinue to  endeavor  every  effort  to  harness  all 
principles  of  Judaism  and  limit  their  forceful- 
ness  to  the  range  of  convenience  and  comfort 
only. 

The  economic  ruin  of  European  Jewries  will 
be  rebuilt.  But  the  spiritual  ruin  which  has 
taken  place  in  the  last  two  score  and  ten  years 
cannot  so  easily  be  repaired.  A  spiritual  awak- 
ening within  Israel  must  come  to  pass.  No 
State  Department,  no  Congress  and  no  Parlia- 
ment in  the  world  can  restore  Palestine  to  the 
Jewish  people  as  their  .national  homeland.  This 
only  God  can  do,  and  He  will  do  it  whenever 
Israel  will  be  worthy  of  it.  The  people  of  Israel 
will  get  Palestine  all  to  themselves  the  very 
moment  they  will  be  ready  to  receive  it.  The 
priests  needed  special  garments  and  had  to  be 
in  every  other  way  under  no  disability,  either 
physically  or  morally,  before  they  were  per- 

[190] 


THE  PALESTINE  RESOLUTION 

mitted  to  enter  the  service  of  God.  The  holy 
of  holies  required  still  more  special  garments 
and  still  greater  preparations.  The  Jewish 
people  have  become  too  much  absorbed  in 
everyday  matters,  and  therefore  delay  after 
delay  comes  to  pass  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
prepare  themselves  to  reenter  the  service  of 
God. 


[191] 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


APR  g  $ 


1953 
JW191953 


Form  L-9-15m-2,'36 


UNIVEJRS1TY  of  CALIF! 


UC  SOUTHERN  R£G. 
II   I 


A    001  240  606 


